The Americans With The Most To Lose Under GOP’s Plan? Trump Voters
The proposal will hit older, low-income rural people the hardest.
Los Angeles Times:
Trump Voters Would Be Among The Biggest Losers In Republicans' Obamacare Replacement Plan
Americans who swept President Trump to victory — lower-income, older voters in conservative, rural parts of the country — stand to lose the most in federal healthcare aid under a Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, according to a Times analysis of county voting and tax credit data. Among those hit the hardest under the current House bill are 60-year-olds with annual incomes of $30,000, particularly in rural areas where healthcare costs are higher and Obamacare subsidies are greater. (Levey, 3/12)
The Wall Street Journal:
GOP Health Plan Would Hit Rural Areas Hard
The House Republican effort to overhaul the Affordable Care Act could hit many rural areas particularly hard, according to a new analysis, sharply increasing the cost for some residents buying their own insurance.In extreme cases, the amount a consumer might owe for a plan could exceed that person’s annual income. In Nebraska’s Chase County, a 62-year-old currently earning about $18,000 a year could pay nearly $20,000 annually to get health-insurance coverage under the House GOP plan—compared with about $760 a year that person would owe toward premiums under the ACA, an analysis by Oliver Wyman showed. (Wilde Mathews and Chinni, 3/13)
Los Angeles Times:
The Life-And-Death Stakes Of An Affordable Care Act Repeal In One Of L.A. County's Poorest, Sickest Regions
Nurses and doctors rush through hallways, readying exam rooms. The clinic in Lancaster hasn’t yet opened for the day, but staff members know that once patients start filing in they won’t stop. In less than two hours, it will be standing-room only in the waiting areas. Eight years ago, the Antelope Valley Community Clinic was a mobile van that offered check-ups and employed fewer than 10 people. Today it’s a health system with two clinics, two vans and 235 employees, and treats 500 patients a day. (Karlamangla, 3/10)
CQ HealthBeat:
Trumpcare: Big Bills In Small Towns
Across the country, small-town Americans are paying more than city dwellers for their insurance, with fewer options. Their prices are climbing faster, too: monthly premiums for insurance on the health care law’s exchanges spiked by an average 30 percent in rural areas last year, compared to an average 20 percent premium rise in urban areas. People in more than a third of U.S. counties, mostly rural, had just one insurance company from which they could buy Obamacare plans last year. In Georgia — home to the newly installed Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price — and around the country, these are the Americans who have both the most to gain and the most to lose from repeal. And they are the ones Price and congressional Republicans will answer to as they craft their replacements. (Mershon, 3/13)
