Millions Of Californians Would Struggle To Afford Care Under GOP’s Health Plan
Covered California director Peter Lee says the state doesn't have a firm number of those affected but the Congressional Budget Office report suggests it would have to be in the millions. Media outlets looks at how California would fare under the American Health Care Act.
Sacramento Bee:
Californians’ Tax Subsidies Likely To Shrink With Obamacare Replacement Plan
The Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act would dramatically reduce tax credits for many Californians purchasing health insurance through public exchanges and make coverage unaffordable for hundreds of thousands of people, according to data released Tuesday by the state’s health exchange program, Covered California. Under the American Health Care Act, authored by House Speaker Paul Ryan and released last week, many of the 1.3 million Californians enrolled in plans through the exchange, especially older people, will struggle to afford health insurance if the proposal becomes law, said Covered California director Peter Lee Tuesday. (Caiola, 3/14)
Los Angeles Times:
Health Premiums Would Leap For Many Californians Under GOP Plan
Health insurance premiums would leap substantially for many Californians, especially lower-income people living in high-cost cities, under the House Republican plan to replace Obamacare, according to an analysis released Tuesday. Californians purchasing insurance through the state’s Obamacare program known as Covered California received $4.2 billion in subsidies in 2016 to help them buy coverage. (Petersen, 3/14)
KPCC:
Covered California Chief: 'Millions' Stand To Lose Coverage
Covered California Executive Director Peter Lee declined to go into more specifics about the number. But in light of the Congressional Budget Office's estimate that within 10 years 24 million Americans would become uninsured under the GOP plan, he said "it cannot but be millions" who would lose coverage in California. (Plevin, 3/14)
Sacramento Business Journal:
Here's How California Will Be Affected By New GOP Health Plan, As CBO Says 24M More Would Lose Insurance
Bay Area lawmakers quickly issued statements saying they were alarmed by the CBO score. "I hope they would pull the bill. It's really the only decent thing to do," House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said. "How can they look their constituents in the eye when they say to them '24 million of you will no longer have coverage.' "Locally, the Bay Area and California itself stands to lose millions of dollars in healthcare funding, with millions of Californians losing healthcare if the act is enacted. (Hayes and McDermid, 3/14)
The Mercury News:
GOP Health Plan Would Hit Bay Area Hard
The overwhelming majority of Bay Area consumers will pay much steeper insurance premiums under the House Republican’s plan than they do under the Affordable Care Act, according to preliminary figures released Tuesday by the state’s health insurance exchange. The data from Covered California surfaced the day after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicted that 24 million Americans would lose health coverage under the proposed American Health Care Act by 2026. (Seipel, 3/14)
KQED:
What Happens To San Francisco’s Medical Safety Net Under The Republican Bill?
Like many Californians in the health industry, [Dr. Alice] Chen is struggling to understand the implications of the Republican health care bill, introduced last week in Congress and followed this week by sobering analyses of its effects: one from the national Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and another from Covered California, the state’s health care marketplace. Covered California Executive Director Peter V. Lee expressed immediate concern. (Klivans, 3/14)
The Desert Sun:
Sen. Kamala Harris: ACA Repeal Involves 'Moral Values'
By seeking to repeal the Affordable Care Act and throw millions off insurance plans it underwrites, Republicans are sending the message that “health care is not a civil right; that it’s a privilege,” California freshman Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris said Tuesday. ”I feel strongly that when we’re talking about our sick, when we’re talking about our poor, when we’re talking about seniors, when we’re talking about children and we’re talking about something that would deny those in need with the relief and the help that they need, that they want and deserve, it does put in place a question about our moral values,” she said. (Sullivan, 3/14)