What We Repeal
This is it. The American Health Care Act (AHCA) is the bill that repeals Obamacare. The worst, most hated, and most disruptive mandates, taxes, and rules from Obamacare will be gone—just as we promised and just as the American people want. Our bill:
- Repeals Obamacare’s individual and employer mandates so nobody is forced to buy a product that they don’t want.
- Repeals Obamacare taxes like the Medical Device Tax and taxes on health insurance premiums, prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, and the increased expense threshold for deducting medical expenses.
- Repeals Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion by providing a stable transition for states to a solvent and reformed Medicaid program.
- Repeals Obamacare provisions that send taxpayer money to abortion providers and ensures our health care system includes conscience protections.
- Repeals Obamacare’s age rating and actuarial values rules, which will increase consumer freedom and lower costs.
- Repeals Obamacare’s subsidy system and instead provide tax relief and fairness for the American people who lack employer or government sponsored coverage with refundable and advanceable tax credits.
But we must remember, this is only one of three parts of our repeal and replace agenda. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price will take actions to increase choices, lower costs, and stabilize the health insurance market. We also plan to pass other policies that can’t be included in this reconciliation legislation because of Senate rules.
Why We Repeal
Doing nothing is not an option. The American people are tied to Obamacare’s sinking ship, and we have to act now.
Already, some counties will have no providers on the individual exchange. About 1/3 of counties in America only have one provider. An executive at Aetna recently said that the Obamacare markets are in a “death spiral.” Premiums continue to rise rapidly. State and federal budgets are stretched thin. Wait lists on Medicaid are growing, leaving the poor, the young, and the disabled behind.
This list of problems is causing real life pain for millions, which is why we’ve introduced the American Health Care Act to repeal and replace Obamacare.
How We Replace
Our replacement plan is simple. Because President Obama had been implementing his disastrous health care law for years, we can’t pull the rug out from under those in the Obamacare system. So our plan provides a stable transition as we repeal Obamacare and institutes conservative, market-based reforms such as:
- Tax relief and regulatory relief
- Medicaid reform
- Return of power to the states
- Protections for people with pre-existing conditions
- Expanded and more flexible Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
- Tax credits for those who don’t receive untaxed employer coverage or government-sponsored care
But this isn’t the end. This is just one part of our three-part strategy. In the months to come we’ll continue to implement more aspects of our replace plan—from reducing federal regulations on companies that offer insurance to their employees to tort reform to allowing businesses to band together to create association health plans—through the normal legislative process unconstrained by the rules of reconciliation.