The GOP's Obamacare replacement plan leaked — and it's even worse than you imagined
A draft of House Republicans' Affordable Care Act replacement leaked to Politico on Friday, the details of which suggest that, if passed, will reduce the number of people with health care coverage in the United States.
According to the leak, the GOP's replacement would base health insurance subsidies on age, rather than income, with older people receiving higher amounts. That means poor young people currently receiving subsidies under Obamacare could see that contribution slashed, possibly making coverage unaffordable, Bloomberg Politics reported.
The plan would also scale back the ACA's Medicaid expansion, which provides coverage to roughly 12 million low-income people, according to Bloomberg's report, shifting pressure onto states to find funding streams to pay for the residents who received coverage under the expansion.
While the replacement plan would nix some of the unpopular aspects of Obamacare, including the individual mandate, it also seeks to get rid of provisions that could face heavy blowback.
The GOP's plan, for example, would let insurers charge elderly enrollees up to five times more than younger ones in premiums. Currently, Obamacare limits insurers to charging older customers three times more.
The American Association of Retired Persons — one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the country — has said it will oppose any replacement bill that would increase costs for older folks.
Even worse is that President Donald Trump promised "insurance for everybody" with his replacement.
The leaked plan does not deliver on that promise.