Currently, Senate GOP may be deliberating over potentially holding off on the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act until after the 2018 elections. This news arrives on the heels of the Congressional Budget Office predicting that the number of uninsured Americans would double over ten years under Trump’s proposed American Health Care Act. A new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation offers yet another figure that would lean in the favor of an ACA delay.
The KFF study found that by 2026, over five million older Americans (ages 50-64) would be without healthcare under the American Health Care Act. The greatest number of older Americans hit would be those who fall beneath 200% of the Federal Poverty Line. The reasons include essentially viewing older Americans as a higher risk pool and therefore spiking premiums (five times more than younger Americans), allowing for discrimination for those with pre-existing conditions, and placing the powers within the state to impose age bands as well as the power to deny coverage to older Americans with pre-existing conditions.
The KFF further analyzed that older Americans are among the most with pre-existing conditions, that escalate with age; 47% more likely between the ages of 60-64. Other factors like the AHCA’s proposed repeal of the Medicare payroll tax and the block grant approach to Medicaid would leave many older Americans without the ability to afford healthcare, and even worse, being denied insurance due to pre-existing conditions.
It’s a scary thought that statistically those who need healthcare the most may not have it under the AHCA. However, perhaps the proper modifications will be made should the ACA repeal wait until after the 2018 elections.
To read the KFF study, click here.
