House Republicans are taking action this month to provide relief and deliver patient-centered health care. Introducing the American Health Care Act
Obamacare is collapsing. Republicans have a plan to repeal and replace it.
Obamacare is hurting more people than it is helping, forcing Americans to buy insurance they don’t like, don’t need, and cannot afford.
Premiums
have increased by an average of 25 percent this year.
Nearly
1/3 of all U.S. counties have only one insurer offering plans on their state’s
exchange.
34
percent fewer doctors and other health care providers accept Obamacare
insurance compared to private insurance.
President
Trump called on Congress to “act decisively” to rescue Americans from this
failing law, and House Republicans are answering his call.
More
than eight months ago, we outlined our vision for repealing and replacing
Obamacare in A Better Way. Since then, we have been talking with our
constituents and colleagues about how to turn these solutions into policies
that will improve lives.
Now,
House Republicans are moving forward with fiscally responsible legislation to
deliver relief from Obamacare’s taxes and mandates and lay the groundwork for a
21st century health care system.
Specifically, the primary Committees with
jurisdiction over health care—Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce—have
released legislation that not only repeals the law, but replaces it with
reforms President Trump laid out.
DELIVER RELIEF
Dismantles
the Obamacare taxes that have hurt job creators, increased premium costs, and
limited options for patients and health care providers—including taxes on
prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, health-insurance premiums,
and medical devices.
Eliminate
the individual and employer mandate penalties, which forced millions
of workers, families, and job creators into expensive, inadequate Obamacare
plans that they don’t want and cannot afford.
PRESERVE VITAL PATIENT PROTECTIONS
Prohibit
health insurers from denying coverage or charging more
money to patients based on pre-existing conditions.
Help
young adults access health insurance and stabilize the
marketplace by allowing dependents to continue staying on their parents’ plan
until they are 26.
ADVANCE 21ST CENTURY REFORMS PROPOSED BY
PRESIDENT TRUMP
Establish a Patient and State Stability Fund, which
provides states with $100 billion to design programs that meet the unique needs
of their patient populations and help low-income Americans afford health care.
Modernize and strengthen Medicaid by
transitioning to a “per capita allotment” so states can better serve the
patients most in need.
Empower individuals and families to
spend their health care dollars the way they want and need by enhancing and
expanding Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)—nearly doubling the amount of money
people can contribute and broadening how people can use it.
Help
Americans access affordable, quality health care by
providing a monthly tax credit—between $2,000 and $14,000 a year—for low- and
middle-income individuals and families who don’t receive insurance through work
or a government program.
Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQs)What does your legislation do?
Our
plan delivers relief from the taxes and mandates that have hurt job creators, increased
premiums, and limited options for patients and health care providers.
It
returns control of health care from Washington back to the states and restores
the free market so Americans can access the quality, affordable health care
options that are tailored to their needs.
How will your legislation be better than Obamacare?
Obamacare
was based on a one-size-fits-all approach that put bureaucrats in Washington in
charge of your health care.
The law
led to higher costs, fewer choices, and less access to the care people
need.
What
we’re proposing will deliver the control and choice individuals and families
need to access health care that’s right for them.
And we
provide the freedom and flexibility states, job creators, and health care
providers need to deliver quality, affordable health care options.
How will this improve my health care?
What
we’re proposing will decrease premiums and expand and enhance health care
options so Americans can find a plan that’s right for them.
We also
make sure Americans can save and spend their health care dollars the way they
want and need—not the way Washington prescribes.
Are you repealing patient protections, including for people with
pre-existing conditions?
No.
Americans should never be denied coverage or charged more because of a
pre-existing condition.
We
preserve vital patient protections, such as (1) prohibiting health insurers
from denying coverage to patients based on pre-existing conditions, and (2)
lifting lifetime caps on medical care.
And we
allow dependents to continue staying on their parents’ plan until they are
26.
Are you repealing all of Obamacare’s taxes?
Our
plan delivers relief from all of Obamacare’s taxes, including dismantling taxes
on prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, health-insurance premiums,
and medical devices.
And we
immediately eliminate the individual and employer mandate penalties, which
forced millions of people into Obamacare plans they don’t want and cannot
afford.
Are you repealing the subsidies?
Obamacare’s
subsidies must be repealed. They are deeply flawed and leave millions of
middle-class individuals and families without any help to pay for health care.
Just as
President Trump called for, we will replace Obamacare’s subsidies with a tax
credit that helps Americans—including those Obamacare left behind—access health
care options that are tailored to their needs.
Are you repealing Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion?
Medicaid
is a critical program, but it has its flaws—including fewer choices and less
access to quality care. Obamacare’s expansion made those flaws worse.
Our
proposal strengthens Medicaid and targets the program’s limited resources to
the patients most in need.
We will
provide a stable transition and help ensure low-income Americans have access
quality, affordable options through a new, competitive, state-based private
insurance marketplace.
Won’t millions of Americans lose their health insurance because
of your plan?
No. We
are working to give all Americans peace of mind about their health care. We
will have a stable transition toward a system that empowers patients with more
choices and lower costs.
During
the transition, Americans will continue to have access to their existing health
care options.
We even
take steps to immediately provide more flexibility and choice for the people
who purchase insurance through the individual marketplace. For example,
individuals and families will be able to use their existing subsidy to purchase
insurance—including the catastrophic coverage that’s currently prohibited—off
of the exchanges.
What happens to the coverage I get through work?
We
preserve employer-sponsored coverage—a vital benefit that helps more than 150
million workers and families access affordable, quality health care.
How are you going to cover the millions of Americans who gained
coverage through Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion?
Our
proposal provides Americans who do not receive insurance through work or a
government program with an advanceable, refundable tax credit so they can
access a plan that’s right for them—not one that’s dictated by Washington.
How is this tax credit different than Obamacare’s subsidies?
Obamacare’s
subsidies were based on income, created a disincentive to work, and left
millions of hard-working, middle-class Americans behind.
Obamacare’s
subsidies also only applied to insurance dictated by Washington, substantially
limiting flexibility and choice.
Our
legislation repeals Obamacare’s flawed subsidies in 2020 and instead provides a
tax credit to low- and middle-income Americans who do not receive insurance
through work or a government program.
Unlike
Obamacare’s subsidies, these tax credits are based on age and family size and
will gradually phase out as your income increases—making sure work always pays
and hard-working Americans are never left behind.
How big will my tax credit be? Will I be able to buy a real
health care plan with it?
Our tax
credits are based on age and family size.
Each
year, low- and middle-income Americans will be eligible to receive between
$2,000 and $14,000 to purchase health insurance, depending on how old you are
and how big your family is.
These
tax credits will be credible—something that will make a meaningful difference
for individuals and families when it comes accessing health care through a new,
competitive, state-based insurance market.
With
all the other policies, we are proposing to increase choices and lowers costs,
this tax credit will help people access the health care options they want and
need.
How will women be affected under your proposal?
Our
proposal specifically prohibits any gender discrimination.
Women
will have equal access to the same affordable, quality health care options as
men do under our proposal.
Will women be able to purchase a plan that covers abortions?
No. Our
proposal is consistent with the bipartisan Hyde Amendment, which does not allow
taxpayer dollars to go toward funding an elective abortion.
Won’t
premiums increase when you repeal the individual and employer mandates because
fewer people will participate in the individual market?
By
repealing taxes, rolling back regulations and mandates, and restoring control
back to the states, our plan unleashes innovation and competition in the health
care.
This
approach will result in lower costs and more choices. In fact, our plan is
expected to lower premiums. And it will deliver much more flexibility for
people to save and spend their health care dollars the way they want and
need.
How are you paying for this plan? How much is it going to cost
taxpayers?
We are
still discussing details, but we are committed to repealing Obamacare and replacing
it with fiscally responsible policies that restore the free market and protect
taxpayers.
How was this bill drafted?
We’ve
been talking about our ideas to repeal and replace this failing health care law
for years. Many of the policies have even been passed by the House already.
We
outlined our vision for replacing Obamacare over 8 months ago, and have been
working since then to turn these policies into legislation.
The
legislation is now online for our constituents and colleagues to review. The
Committees will mark up their respective parts of the legislation this week and
send it to the Budget Committee, where they will compile the final
reconciliation package for the full House to consider.
What happens next?
The
Committees move their pieces of the legislation through regular order. There
will be Committee markups on Wednesday so our Members can consider the
policies, offer amendments, and vote on a final product.
Then we
send our final products over to the Budget Committee to put together and send to
the floor for a House vote.
