Republican Replacement Plan Would Result In 1.8M Fewer Jobs, Analysis Projects

McClatchy: GOP Health Care Bill Would Kill 1.8 Million Jobs In 2022
The U.S. economy would produce 1.8 million fewer jobs in 2022 if the Republican legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act became law, according to a new analysis by the Center for American Progress. Two provisions in the legislation accounted for most of the projected job losses: repealing expanded eligibility for Medicaid coverage and cutting federal financial assistance for marketplace health coverage. Both measures were expected to eliminate 2.2 million jobs in 2022, according to the study by the left-leaning think tank. (Pugh, 3/20)

The Associated Press: Already In Peril, Rural Hospitals Unsure On Health Care Bill
Talmadge Yarbrough had just sat down at his desk and opened a box of pecans when he let out a gasp that could have been his last breath. He'd gone into cardiac arrest in his office, a co-worker called 911, and an ambulance drove him two miles to the small hospital that serves this rural community in southeast Georgia. "I would have never lasted to get to Savannah or Statesboro," Yarbrough said of the biggest cities near Claxton — each 30 to 60 miles away. "I firmly believe if that hospital wasn't here, I wouldn't be here." (Bynum, Santana and Foody, 3/20)

And in other news —

Kaiser Health News: GOP Recycles Controversial 2003 Bill To Boost Small-Business Insurance
In a bid to improve the health insurance purchasing clout of small businesses, Republicans have dusted off a piece of controversial legislation more than a decade old and reintroduced it as part of their effort to remake the market after they throw out the Affordable Care Act. (Andrews, 3/21)

CNBC: How The Trump Administration Can Undermine Obamacare If Repeal Fails 
As chairman of the House Budget Committee, Tom Price spent the last seven years trying to muscle through a repeal of Obamacare. Now, as Health and Human Services Secretary, that health-reform law, the Affordable Care Act, may give Price a lot of the leeway he needs to roll back its regulations... Health policy analysts say the ACA gives the secretary the most discretion when it comes to enforcing reporting regulations for insurers, hospitals and physicians, in particular. (Coombs, 3/20)

Kaiser Health News: GOP Scraps Individual Mandate But Sets Up New Penalty For Those Skipping Coverage
The Affordable Care Act’s tax penalty for people who opt out of health insurance is one of the most loathed parts of the law, so it is no surprise that Republicans are keen to abolish it. But the penalty, called the individual mandate, plays a vital function: nudging healthy people into the insurance markets where their premiums help pay for the cost of care for the sick. That has required Republican lawmakers to come up with an alternative. The GOP approach is called a “continuous coverage” penalty. It increases premiums for people who buy insurance if they have gone 63 consecutive days without a policy during the past 12 months. Their premiums would rise by 30 percent and that surcharge would last for a year. While the ACA assesses a fine for each year people don’t buy insurance, the GOP plan would punish those who decide to purchase it after not being in the market. (Rau and Gorman, 3/21)

Cleveland Plain-Dealer: In Pro-Trump Vinton County, Obamacare Repeal Could Bring Major Consequences
In rural Vinton County, where 70 percent of voters backed President Donald Trump last year, there's a lot of support for scrapping the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. But if Obamacare is repealed, and the accompanying money to expand Medicaid coverage is rolled back, there could be major repercussions in this isolated, poor, rural county of 13,000 people. (Pelzer, 3/20)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Trump Voters In South Georgia Come To Terms With GOP Health Plan
Kenneth Peek had a rough year. The South Georgia farm where he and his wife grow corn, wheat and soybeans faced a drought and lost money in 2016. So he’s working construction jobs to make ends meet. The 64-year-old hoped to catch a break on his health care costs. He has insurance through the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, but the premiums and bills keep going up and up. That’s one reason he voted for Donald Trump. ... But like many older Americans and people with limited means, Peek is learning that the Republican plan to replace Obamacare doesn’t give him a break. It gives him a thumping. (Schneider and Williams, 3/20)

Kaiser Health News: KHN On Call: Answers To Questions On Tax Credits, Penalties And Age Ratings
For years, Republicans in Congress have promised to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, claiming that its requirement for nearly everyone to buy insurance or pay a fine is burdensome and costly, and that it doesn’t give people enough flexibility to get the coverage they need.Now that they’re in charge, the bill they’ve released as an alternative (the American Health Care Act) would effectively eliminate the requirement to buy coverage and might open up more health care choices. (Kodjak and Rovner, 3/20)

Kaiser Health News: I Do … Take You To Be My Lawfully Covered Health Care Dependent
[Don] Boyer and [Ann] Justi were getting married. Never mind the blizzard-like conditions that kept one set of friends home, and a bad cold that waylaid another. They were determined to tie the knot that afternoon. So they recruited their landlord from downstairs and a public radio reporter to be witnesses. Why the rush? Boyer and Justi had been listening to the news. They were planning to get married in the fall, but it occurred to them that there’s no knowing what could happen to health insurance if the Trump administration and congressional Republicans dismantle the Affordable Care Act. (Mogul, 3/21)

USA Today: Health Care Stocks Rebound Despite Fight Over Obamacare
Health care stocks are performing better this year than investors might think, given the rancorous debate over the Republican plan to repeal and replace Obamacare. (Shell, 3/20)