Executive Summary
This brief focuses on aspects of the American Healthcare Act of 2017, Trumpcare, that contributed to the recent withdrawal of the bill. President Trump asserts that the ultimate goal of this healthcare plan is to repeal and replace Obamacare.
Trumped Healthcare
This healthcare proposal was met with disapproval from House Representatives because many low income and middle class families would be met with the challenge of paying for healthcare with increased premiums or choosing to live uninsured. Yet, research shows that individuals who are insured live longer than those uninsured, and those uninsured are either more likely to be from the low-income bracket, a woman, or unemployed. These individuals are often at highest risk for developing preventative health problems. Research also suggests a consistent decline in the uninsured population among the non-elderly population from 2010, when the Affordable Care Act passed, to 2015 by 8 %. The Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, has served its purpose of expanding healthcare to all Americans, especially the employed with out insurance coverage.
A stark difference in Obamacare and AHCA is where financial liability of health insurance is placed. AHCA would have required citizens to purchase health insurance with increased premiums in addition to funding a Health Savings Account (HSA). This is done with the intent of reducing government regulations on price competition of the healthcare system, which is the culprit of increasing premiums with limited coverage. A benefit of the AHCA is that any money accumulated from the HSA goes untaxed, saving both the tax payer and the government from financial liability of public healthcare. However, this plan is not feasible for all Americans, especially the unemployed, low wage workers, and working families with no existing health benefits. Saving for a healthy-single adult is reasonable, they are more than likely to forfeit any medical coverage while healthy. Therefore, their account accumulates wealth. A family of 4 with a single income may not share that luxury due to expenses for child care and regular pediatrics visits.
So, how will families receive medical coverage if they choose to opt out of Trumpcare? Medicare and Medicade will still be provided, but under Trumpcare these programs will be federally funded through block grants given to each individual state.
Conclusion and Implications
American healthcare will regress back towards privatization now that conservatives have reclaimed majority seat in both the House of Representatives and Senate. Long term, Obamacare will require more funding for serving only a small portion Americans who require medical assistance often. Long term, Trumpcare provides an opportunity for Americans to claim an additional welfare benefit through the taxes system. Currently, this policy does little to replace Obamacare in a feasible manner for Americans who have little to no options for health coverage. The goal of this is solely to repeal and replace Obamacare. So, this policy seems biased towards low and middle class Americans who cannot afford to pay out-of-pocket expenses for medical coverage.
A current option would be to redraft the Affordable Care Act. It is important to consider the best fiscal alternatives when addressing healthcare. The financial burden must be addressed. There is a discrepancy of those insured who use their policy the most versus whom the the Affordable Healthcare Act was created to cover, working class Americans who are not senior citizens. Promoting the use of HSAs would not be detrimental to the long term well being of the individual. Even though citizens cannot vote directly on this policy issue, they and House members must consider whether they need immediate access to healthcare for a non-existing issue or should they just receive coverage at the time that it is needed.