Recent polling by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that half of all Americans support the Affordable Care Act.
An additional 28 percent don’t want to see it repealed without knowing what will replace it. And 87 percent of the 22 million folks who now have affordable health coverage through the ACA are happy with their insurance.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates the ACA is saving 45,000 lives a year. So why are President Donald Trump and the Republicans in Congress chomping at the bit to repeal and/or radically change the ACA?
The ACA provides tax credits to help many folks pay for health insurance, and it has added an additional eight million low-income Americans (mostly children) to the Medicaid program. Funding is coming primarily from a 0.9 percent earned, and a 3.9 percent unearned, income tax on annual incomes greater than $200,000 per individual or $250,000 per couple.
The Republican Party has a track record of cutting taxes for the wealthy, so it is not surprising that congressional Republicans are talking about defunding the ACA by eliminating this tax.
Health insurance under the ACA is mandated to provide comprehensive coverage, which means ACA insurance policies must pay for preventative health services such as visits to a primary care physician and dental care for kids. Preventative care saves money, as fewer people end up hospitalized with serious illnesses.
Recently, Trump, Paul Ryan and Rand Paul said they want to offer health insurance to “the most amount of people at the least amount of cost.” Without significant federal funding, the only way to provide health insurance at a low cost for everyone is to offer catastrophic coverage policies. They have low premiums, but they do not cover preventative care.
Out-of-pocket costs are so high, many families go bankrupt paying medical bills before their catastrophic insurance kicks in.
These policies do nothing to reduce the overall cost of health care. The ACA is not perfect, yet it can be improved.
If you think repealing the ACA might be a good idea, beware of throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
Karen Goodwin
Pagosa Springs
