The Facts on the GOP Health Care Bills

The GOP has created a number of proposals to repeal the Affordable Care Act. While the proposals have been different from one another, they are aimed at bringing healthcare back to a system that is closer to a free market system and reducing regulations. However, none of their proposals have been made law. Here are some of the GOP's most prominent healthcare proposals:

The Clean Repeal:

The clean repeal would eliminate The Affordable Care Act in entirety. It would entirely remove protections for individuals suffering from pre-existing conditions. This proposal is supported by more conservative members of the GOP, such as the House's Freedom Caucus. Moderate Republicans are against the clean repeal. Currently, it would not be possible for a clean repeal to be passed due to the filibuster.

The Skinny Repeal:

The Skinny Repeal was recently proposed in the Senate, and the bill failed by only one vote. This bill kept protections in place for those suffering from pre-existing conditions, but the mandate that all citizens carry health insurance was eliminated. As a result, many people expected that the bill would cause serious disruptions of the health insurance marketplace and cause health insurance costs to skyrocket.

The bill also would have gotten rid of the employer mandate to offer coverage. It also would have placed individual caps on Medicaid coverage. In addition, as many as 15 million people could have lost health coverage.

The American Health Care Act:

This GOP proposal passed in the house, but it did not move further in the legislative process. The bill would have provided subsidies in the form of tax credits to individuals to make it easier to purchase health insurance. The tax credits would have even been available to individuals who didn't have an income. Unlike The Affordable Care Act, the amount that an individual would receive would have been based on age rather than income. Older people would have received a larger subsidy than younger people. In many cases, the subsidies would not have been enough to cover the cost of health insurance.

It would have eliminated the mandate that everyone purchase health insurance, but it would have kept protections in place for those suffering from pre-existing conditions. This was expected to cause serious disruption of the health insurance marketplaces and cause premiums to skyrocket.

The Patient Freedom Act:

This bill would have kept a lot of The Affordable Care Act in place, but states would have the option to abandon certain aspects of the legislation. States would have been given the following options:

• States could design their own healthcare system without federal assistance.

• States could receive federal funding to create their own healthcare system. Federal assistance could be as much as 95% of current federal cost sharing subsidies and premium tax credits. Funds also could be deposited into the health savings accounts of residents of the state.

• States could keep the current rules of The Affordable Care Act and receive 95% of the current funding from the federal government.

Cassidy-Graham-Heller Bill:

This bill would restructure Medicaid, and it would drastically cut funding to the program. It would weaken protections that are in place for those suffering from pre-existing conditions. Some people with pre-existing conditions could lose protections altogether. It also would eliminate subsidies that are offered by The Affordable Care Act. Out of pocket costs could increase as well, and many people would lose coverage. The mandate that everyone must carry health insurance would also be removed.

What Types Of Problems Tend To Arise When The Healthcare System Is Suddenly Changed?

Whenever healthcare laws change, some doctors are unfamiliar with the new procedures for billing Medicare and Medicaid. According to Dr. Nick Oberheiden, "What was an appropriate billing code yesterday could constitute health care fraud tomorrow." In addition, health insurance companies may struggle to adjust to a new healthcare system. This may cause some health insurance companies to go out of business, and it could result in people losing coverage.