GOP releases bills to repeal and replace ObamaCare
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House Republicans on Monday unveiled their long-awaited legislation to repeal and replace ObamaCare.
The two measures dismantle the core aspects of ObamaCare, including its subsidies to help people buy coverage, its expansion of Medicaid, its taxes and its mandates for people to have insurance. (READ THE BILLS HERE AND HERE.)
In its place, Republicans would put in place a new system centered on a tax credit to help people buy insurance.
That tax credit would range from $2,000 to $4,000 a year, increasing with someone’s age. That system would provide less financial assistance for low-income and older people than ObamaCare, but could give more assistance to younger people and those with somewhat higher incomes.
Democrats warn that between the phasing out of ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion and the smaller tax credit for low income people, coverage would be put at risk for many of the 20 million people who gained it from ObamaCare.
Republicans acknowledge that their plan will cover fewer people, saying unlike ObamaCare, they are not forcing people to buy coverage through a mandate. They say their system is less intrusive and provides people a tax credit without mandates or a range of tax increases.
House committees are expected to vote on the measures this week, with the full House voting on it soon after that.
The measure faces a rocky path, particularly in the Senate. Four Republican senators earlier Monday objected to an earlier version of the House bill, saying that it failed to protect ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion.
Even in the House, there are objections. Conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus call the bill's tax credit is a “new entitlement.” They have enough votes to kill the bill, but it remains to be seen whether they will actually vote against it.