After Embracing Medicaid Expansion, California Will Be Hard-Hit Under GOP Plan
“The pressure will be on the state legislature to decide whether to let a lot of poor people suffer,” Lowell Brown, a Los Angeles attorney who specializes in advising health care providers told the Los Angeles Times. “This plan passes the buck from the feds to the state.” Meanwhile, the paper offers a look at what's actually in the bill.
Los Angeles Times:
Millions Of Californians Likely Would Lose Coverage Under GOP Obamacare Replacement, Experts Say
Millions of Californians probably would lose health coverage under the Obamacare replacement bill released by House Republicans this week, experts say. The long-awaited GOP alternative removes the requirement that all Americans sign up for health insurance or pay a penalty, alters the amount of financial assistance offered for plans sold on the marketplaces and bans federal funding for Planned Parenthood. But what probably would affect the greatest number of Californians and raise the toughest questions for the state are proposed cuts to Medicaid, which covers more than a third of California’s residents. (Karlamangla, Mason and Myers, 3/7)
Los Angeles Times:
Obamacare 101: What's In The House Republicans’ Replacement Plan?
Obamacare is pretty complex. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that what the GOP is proposing in its place has a few knotty details. Here’s a short guide to what’s in the Republican plan and what it could mean for Americans’ health coverage. (Levey, 3/7)
And in other news on the American Health Care Act —
The Mercury News:
How GOP's Replacement Plan For Obamacare Could Affect You
The proposed measures also would change Medicaid — called Medi-Cal in California — from an automatic entitlement to a per-capita federal funding allotment to states, which over time would probably lower the federal government’s cost for the program. One in three Californians is now on Medi-Cal, and around four million of 14 million on the health program for the poor signed up because of Obamacare. ... Medi-Cal recipients will continue to receive the benefit, with the federal government covering the majority of the costs. But the state will split the cost with the federal government for those who sign up in 2020 and beyond. (Seipel, 3/7)
Orange County Register:
Local Reaction To GOP Obamacare Plan
Southern Californians with a stake in Obamacare reacted Monday to unveiled legislation that would repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act with responses ranging from approval to dismay. While many health care experts, as well as residents following the debate in Congress, said they needed time to study the full implication of the legislation, they weighed in on the major provisions that would introduce tax credits instead of subsidies and the plan to ultimately phase out the Medicaid expansion. (Perkes, 3/7)
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Obamacare Repeal Could Affect Insurance For 150K Sonoma County Residents
Sonoma County health care officials Tuesday warned the newly introduced Obamacare replacement bill could upend the local health care system, leading to the loss of health coverage or dramatic benefits cuts to nearly 150,000 residents, and cost thousands of jobs and $200 million in economic losses. ... The GOP plan seeks to “repeal and replace” Obamacare. Some 23,000 county residents are newly insured through the state’s Covered California health exchange, while another 35,000 residents have new coverage through Obamacare’s expansion of Medi-Cal, California’s version of the federal Medicaid program. A total of about 150,000 Sonoma County residents are enrolled in private insurance through Covered California or government insurance. (Espinoza, 3/7)