Sheesh...you'd think that thing called a "election" we do every two years would help the representatives know what to do, but I guess not. Today's Yopp! is focused on letting our representatives know how disappointed we are that the House passed H.R. 1628 last Thursday. There is an ad campaign starting this week that is targeting twenty-four House members in particular, but we need to let ALL of them know how we feel.
Step 1: Find out how your representative voted on H.R. 1628. All Democrats voted NO as did a handful of Republicans. Before you make any calls, be sure you know how they voted.
Step 2: Do a little research and find out at least one way that you personally (or someone you care about) would be impacted were this bill to pass. I've put some of them at the bottom of this Yopp! There are significant losses for those who are on Medicaid, over 50, low-income, OR have pre-existing conditions. Just find one thing that affects you. (Oh...and in the interest of full disclosure and fair and balanced reporting, if your annual income is over $1 million, this bill should save you about $50,000 in taxes, so that's something...)
UPDATE: I just got off the phone with Desiree in Rep. Barbara Lee's office. She directed me to a couple of websites that can help with the research:
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Washington Post: Winners and Losers from the GOP's Healthcare Bill
Step 3: Work up a little quaver to your voice and call your representative. Let them know how you will be affected and then either thank them for voting know or tell them how disappointed you are that they voted yes. On the other hand, if you are one of those millionaires that will get a tax break, be sure to tell them how thrilled you are that you will be paying even less of your share.
If you're not outraged yet, then just watch Representative Labrador of Idaho tell his constituents that, "Nobody dies because they don't have access to health care." In the meantime, stay alive 'til this horror show is past. We're gonna fly a lot of flags half-mast.
**********************************
From Gov Track Insider:
If you’re on Medicaid…
- The ACA expanded Medicaid eligibility in 32 states that opted in to it. The AHCA would reverse the eligibility expansion beginning in 2020(anyone enrolled by then would remain enrolled), and it would reduce federal support for Medicaid with caps on coverage.
- The ACA expanded required benefits under Medicaid, such as mental health and addiction services, which would no longer be required.
If you’re covered through your employer…
- Fines would be eliminated for large employers that don’t provide health plans.
If you’re on an individual plan…
- The ACA limited what health insurance providers could charge in premiums. Under the AHCA, those limits would be adjusted so that younger people might see lower premiums and older people much higher premiums. UPDATE — See the May 4 update at the top of the article.
- The ACA’s complex cost-sharing provisions that lowered costs for some low-income Americans would be eliminated.
- The ACA’s awkward bronze/silver/platinum levels would go away.
Other changes…
- A long list of taxes created by the ACA to pay for its subsidies would be eliminated, but some new taxes will be added, such as a new tax on the value of health insurance provided by an employer.
- Parts of last year’s last-minute bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act would be defunded.
“Defunding” Planned Parenthood
The AHCA would also prohibit federal funding from going to Planned Parenthood, mostly through Medicaid, for one year.
This would pause federal reimbursements for Planned Parenthood’s reproductive health, maternal health, and child health services — but not its abortion services because federal funds are already prohibited from being used for abortion.
What’s the bottom line?
How the AHCA would affect you depends on your income, how you get your health insurance, and what kinds of health care you need.
- For older, low-income Americans with health insurance from the individual market: Premiums could increase by $3,600 for a 55-year-old earning $25,000 a year and $8,400 for a 64-year-old earning $15,000 a year. [AARP]
- For low-income Americans covered by Medicaid, the federal cap on support would likely lead to fewer benefits and higher out-of-pocket costs. [AARP] 5–18 million individuals are predicted to lose Medicaid coverage entirely. [NYTimes]
- If you are covered through your employer, your employer would be allowed to stop providing coverage — and that’s made more likely because tax credits and the tax advantage for employer-provided coverage would be eliminated. But experts are split on whether the AHCA will affect employer coverage — and even whether the ACA ever had any effect on employer coverage to begin with. [NYTimes]
- Americans with income around $40,000-$75,000 who purchase an individual plan may be better off because the ACA’s subsidies for low-income Americans would be spread out to income up to $75,000. [USA Today] (Unless premiums go up too.) If your income is below that, some of your subsidies are now going to go to other people with higher income.
- If you have an income of $200,000 or more, or investment income, you can expect your tax bill to go down — those making $1 million or more can expect around $50,000 less in taxes each year.
Major changes to the health insurance market like the ACA and AHCA have far-reaching effects on federal spending and the economy. But experts polled by The New York Times are split on whether the AHCA will save the government or cost more because the AHCA lowers both government spending and tax revenue.
No comments:
Post a Comment