New Details Finally Emerge On The GOP’s Obamacare Replacement Plan

Ever since Republicans saw Obamacare take place, they have attempted to remove it and replace it with something new, and now President Donald Trump has repealed it, so what is the Trump administration expected to replace it with? Details have been scarce since Trump repealed the Affordable Care Act earlier this month, but after he pushed the executive order out to do so, Americans were assured a replacement was coming.

Now it appears that new details have emerged regarding what Republicans are expected to replace Obamacare with. While Republicans have yet to agree on a detailed policy to replace Obamacare with, there is an interesting update regarding Medicaid. It of course expanded in more than 30 states under the Obama administration. Republicans have also been talking about how the new healthcare law would be funded.

The reason that Obamacare is disliked by many Americans has to do with its monthly tax for those uninsured and the high premiums. Americans certainly would want to remove both problems under the new healthcare law. According to the Washington Post, one popular idea among Republicans is that millions who get healthcare coverage through the expansion of Medicaid would be “grandfathered in.”

In addition to this, the states that did not expand Medicaid could get more money through an increased federal disproportionate share payments. This would be used to help hospitals that see a large number of uninsured people. Politico reports that there would be a cap on the amount of money given to states for Medicaid. The plan is to also end tax subsidies that are based on income for the purchase of the individual plans in 2020.

Ed Haislmaier, a senior research fellow and healthcare policy expert for the Heritage Foundation, claimed that the new plan “addresses the major issues and is a serious proposal for transitioning out of Obamacare. Clearly the details will continue to evolve and we’ll be watching as they do.”

Health insurance executives within the United States are expected to meet with Donald Trump on Monday according to a report out of Bloomberg. Blue Cross Blue Shield confirmed they would be at the meeting through their spokeswoman, meaning one of the top insurance companies in the country will be there to meet with the president. Many of these companies lost millions under Obamacare, so the new plan is expected to help them as much as it is to help Americans.

Some experts assume that if insurance companies are helped out, they may charge less for their coverage. This would, in turn, help every American who needs coverage that does not get it through their place of work. On top of this, employers who had to stop offering insurance may now have the ability to add insurance back with the possible lower cost.

Obamacare has helped millions nationwide, which made many Americans worry they may lose their healthcare coverage due to the removal of their help from Obamacare. Republicans know of this issue, which is why they have repeatedly pledged they would not take healthcare away from those who currently get help with their individual coverage through the health market that Obamacare helped establish.

Democrats claim the opposite is true, which has been their message since Democratic candidates went out for office. It will be interesting to see which is true, but according to Bloomberg‘s Zach Tracer, older people may be the ones at the most risk to lose their coverage or pay more for it without Obamacare’s help. United States Senator Patty Murray, a Democrat out of Washington, said in a statement,

“The deeply harmful path House Republicans have laid out would spell disaster for families nationwide. President Trump, who promised families he would provide insurance for everyone, should be the first to oppose it.”

The plan by the Republicans has yet to actually be finished as of now, with no concrete proposal being made by the Trump administration to replace Obamacare. That said, it does appear that there are many people still in favor of the Obamacare system, despite some of the pitfalls it has on other Americans. In a survey released on Friday, The Kaiser Family Foundation found a lot of bipartisan support for keeping federal funding for Medicaid expansion, which was done through Obamacare.

Eighty-four percent of people who took part in the poll felt it was important to do so. The poll shows that there is major support for the Obamacare law at this point, with many Americans now viewing it favorably due to the help it has provided many Americans nationwide according to the poll. Despite this, many healthcare organizations are in favor of a change from Obamacare with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services being one of them. Spokeswoman Caitlin Oakley claimed, “Obamacare has failed. We welcome any and all efforts to repeal and replace it that put patients first.”

The situation at hand at this point is if Donald Trump and his administration will end up keeping the base of Obamacare around with changes to help, which is what John Boehner, former house speaker, claimed might happen recently. With Obamacare being loved and hated across the nation, it will be interesting to see what it is replaced with.

[Featured Image By J. Scott Applewhite/AP Images]