The country is divided over Trump, but firmly against Congressional efforts to repeal and replace the PPACA
. The Hill reported on a Wall St Journal/NBC News poll
The survey, released Thursday as Senate Republicans unveiled a draft of their own healthcare reform legislation, found that 41 percent of Americans say ObamaCare is a good idea while 38 percent say it is a bad idea. By comparison, just 16 percent said they see the House GOP plan as a good idea — a 7-point drop from the 23 percent approval it had shortly after it was passed in April. About 48 percent of respondents said that the House healthcare overhaul was a bad idea, according to the poll.
Elimination of Medicaid benefits for over 10 million Americans is hard to sell to the more progressive Republicans while efforts to retain subsidies in any guise loses the more conservative members.
The exchanges don't present a much easier target. At the end of 2016, 12.7 million Americans were enrolled through the exchanges with 10.5 million receiving subsidies. These are working Americans earning 138-400% of the poverty level. Eliminating or reducing subsidies would cause many of the 10.5 million to lose coverage.
The version of the bill passed by the House, as scored by the Congressional Budget Office transfers wealth from the poorest Americans to the wealthiest, and would result in twenty million losing their healthcare insurance.
Even Trump commented that the bill was "mean" and could be improved. However he only made this comment after celebrating House passage of the bill with a White House lawn party.
What would repeal of ObamaCare achieve?
- Tax cuts for Americans making more than $200,000 per year (huge cost to govt)
- End of individual mandate
- End of company mandate for businesses over 50 employees
- 10 million Americans lose Medicaid benefit (huge savings to govt)
- 10.5 million Americans lose subsidies for private insurance (more savings)
- Insurance companies deregulated, allowed to increase admin costs over 20% and allowed to offer insurance that doesn't cover everything
- Dependent children up to 26 no longer covered by parents policy, will revert to 19, or 23 for full time students
- Pre-existing conditions, lifetime maximums back in effect
- Limits on premiums for 55-64 yr old relaxed, increasing their insurance costs
- Federal insurance exchange used by many states eliminated
- Plus ending some programs that actually improve care (infection program,etc)
- Medicare impacts include reopening the "donut hole" and higher Part C premiums
and...what about that $700B "robbed from Medicare?" If you repeal Obamacare don't you have to put it back. It was part of the agreement with insurers and hospitals that if more people were covered, the rate of Medicare increases could be slowed.