How the GOP is changing Obamacare

[In It to Win It]

Medicaid isn’t the only healthcare program that’s in for an overhaul under the Republican Party’s “one big, beautiful bill.”

The controversial tax and spending package, which passed the House Thursday with the help of pressure from President Trump, also includes several reforms to the Affordable Care Act that are expected to shrink the number of Americans who obtain insurance through the law’s marketplaces.

The legislation would end the option to automatically renew coverage each year and make signing up outside of the normal open enrollment period more difficult, adding red tape that some health experts say could end up blocking Americans from coverage they would otherwise qualify for.

It would also require people to return more money to the government if they receive overpayments on their insurance subsidies. As a result, many Americans could unexpectedly find themselves on the hook for thousands of dollars when they file taxes.

“Each one of the provisions sounds maybe a little wonky or technical,” said Cynthia Cox, director of the Program on the ACA at the healthcare think tank KFF. “But when you put it all together, especially when you think about all the interaction between them, it could make it much harder to sign up for coverage.”

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/how-the-gop-is-changing-obamacare-161623610.html

[KentuckyWoman]

1. Rural hospitals and providers will be hurt.

Already they barely float by razor thin margins. Even 1 or 2% higher uncomplicated care rate and they will be forced to close.

[Jspur]

2. Yahoo comments is filled with Republican trash and it

definitely shows when it comes to this article.

[no_hypocrisy]

3. The Affordable Care Act saved me from no insurance.

I was barely getting by on less than $20,000 a year. Health insurance cost $1,000 monthly and my father was picking up the tab.

My father suddenly died in April, 2014. The very next morning, I enrolled in the ACA, despite the enrollment period was in November. And I was accepted.

I continued with my doctors with the ACA until I could enroll in Medicare.

Now it looks like both programs are going to be severely cut.

I'm reminded that when you're young, maybe health insurance isn't a primary concern. That changes in time.