Silke Jasso
Today, House Republicans took up an amended version of the American Health Care Act, which is touted as a replacement of the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. The legislation, which was stalled in the House for weeks while various GOP factions amended it, passed narrowly and will now face an uncertain future in the Senate.
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The politics of repeal and replace aside, the current health care system needs to be fixed. Just yesterday, Aetna announced that it was leaving the Virginia Obamacare exchange and pulling completely out of that state’s health insurance market. In Iowa, Medica also announced that it was pulling out of that state’s Obamacare exchange, which would would leave all but five Iowa counties without an insurance provider.
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For millions of Americans, Obamacare is not working. It’s not working for those who have had their premiums skyrocket. It’s not working for those who have lost their insurance. It’s not working for those small business owners that have to deal with the employer mandate that has increased costs and burdens for them. It has also hurt millennials. As the ACA continues to do real damage to millions of Americans, simply doing nothing and watching Obamacare collapse is not an option.
This doesn’t mean the AHCA is the right solution. For example, the changes to the tax subsidies means that older and lower income people will pay more for health insurance because the AHCA sets universal tax credits by age instead of Obamacare’s method of using age, income and the costs in the area where plans are offered.
In addition, the AHCA would no longer protect those with preexisting conditions, and it would allow states to get waivers from requiring health insurance companies to offer the “essential benefits” that the ACA requires insurers to provide. However, the only way states could get a waiver from protecting preexisting conditions is if they offer a high-risk pool. Many states have “essential benefits” requirements as well.
It would also be inaccurate to call the AHCA a repeal of Obamacare. It leaves most of the heart and soul of the ACA intact.
If I were a U.S. congressman, I would have voted for the AHCA. The only reason to say no was if Republicans could pass a better bill. Unfortunately Democrats were not willing to negotiate, and too many moderate Republicans were not on board with full repeal. There was simply no path to get anything better.
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There is also something else many of us on the right have to acknowledge. When it comes to universal healthcare, the left won that battle with Obamacare. The American people will not support any health care plan that leaves millions uninsured and priced out of the system. This does not mean we’re on the road to single payer. There are ways to deliver near universal access to healthcare using free markets.
While I would have voted for the AHCA in the House, I hope the Senate makes changes to it to better protect Americans. I also hope that more legislation is forthcoming that would expand the role markets play in healthcare and would lower costs. The AHCA is a flawed, but hopefully a first step toward lower healthcare costs.
