Obamacare continues its death spiral. Premiums are skyrocketing. Insurers are pulling out of the marketplace, leaving some counties with no providers at all and others with only one choice. This report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) confirms that this first phase of conservative health care reform, the American Health Care Act (AHCA), will empower Americans with access, choice, and affordability. Here are some of the facts. The AHCA will:
- Lower deficit by $337 billion
- Reduce premiums by 10% by 2026
- Stop the unsustainable spiral of rising premiums
- Reduce Medicaid spending by $880 billion, giving states certainty and flexibility while making the program solvent for future generation.
But we must also remember, this single CBO report doesn’t tell the whole story:
- It doesn’t take into account the full repeal and replace plan. The CBO is scoring only the American Health Care Act (AHCA), and while it shows the AHCA will vastly improve on Obamacare, it doesn’t take into account phase two and three of our health care reform. In phase two, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price will take actions sanctioned by law to stabilize the markets, and in phase three Congress will pass legislation that can’t be done in the reconciliation process to increase choice and affordability.
- Government mandates vs. consumer freedom. Unlike Obamacare, our plan does not force people to buy insurance they may not want or even need. The fundamental premise of the American Health Care Act is that people should be free and able to buy the type of health insurance that suits their needs. In fact, most of the increase in the uninsured comes from eliminating the individual mandate in the first year, meaning when people aren’t forced to buy one-size-fits-all health insurance, many won’t choose to. Instead, we’re taking steps toward a free and open market place where families can buy health insurance that works for them. This is foundational to a reformed American health care system, and this bill is a big step in that direction.
- Coverage ≠ quality health care. The number of people with health insurance matters little if the health insurance doesn’t provide access to quality health care. Under Obamacare, millions of people realized their insurance wasn’t worth much when they couldn’t find a doctor or couldn’t afford the skyrocketing premiums. Our goal is bigger than getting people insurance. It’s getting people better health care.
The AHCA will give people both the freedom and the ability to choose the quality health care they want—or if they even want to purchase health insurance at all. And frankly, that’s one of the best features of our health care reform.