Posted by Michael Wonder on 23 Mar 2017
The mirage of reform — Republicans’ struggle to dismantle Obamacare
22 March 2017 - Republicans have vowed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act ever since its enactment.
But President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are discovering what Democrats learned long ago: health care reform is politically treacherous. Can the GOP dismantle Obamacare?
The bill introduced by the Republican House leadership, the American Health Care Act (AHCA), would selectively repeal Affordable Care Act (ACA) provisions, including the penalty on larger employers who don’t offer insurance, taxes on higher-income persons and the health care industry that fund coverage for the uninsured, and enhanced federal payments to states that expand Medicaid eligibility.
The AHCA would replace the requirement that most Americans obtain coverage or pay a penalty to the government with a requirement that people maintain continuous coverage or pay a premium penalty to insurers when they subsequently purchase insurance.
