[PAA-Discuss] National Healthcare Reform: Beyond Repeal and Replace

[Sarah Gonzales]

From the Baker Institute of Public Policy at Rice University - long but worth the listen. 

National Health Care Reform: Beyond Repeal and Replace
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1833&v=_704QPvVZTc <https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1833&v=_704QPvVZTc>
 
Ever hear of CHIP the Consumer Health Insurance Plan? They should relabel it SHIP for S***iest Health Insurance Plan. These plans carry a very low monthly cost by comparison to an HMO or PPO plan but have high deductibles.  Out of pocket expenses are also very high for those who actually require more than preventative care. CHIP plans come with the ability to form a Health Savings Account (HSA) which is ≠ to a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) which is a use it or lose it within a 1 year period set of funds. 

HSAs allow people to contribute to a savings account (tax free of course) that can be used for qualified medical expenses and continue to accrue savings over time. The HSA is also not tied to an employer or plan, it’s your $. But… in addition to using the funds for qualified medical expenses, guess what else is allowable? You guessed it! You can invest the funds in the stock market, cause what could go wrong? (facetious laugh)

Who will be more likely to have the ability to save and invest you ask? Well… probably people who have more $ than we do. The wealthy are now able to skip paying even more taxes and still invest using the tax free funds!  If you’re not outraged, you haven’t been listening. 

Aside from the financial inequities cited, CHIP plans are pushing healthy people (according to the Baker Institute report, about 30% of millennials / young people have selected CHIP plans) into 1 pool and people who require more care and use pharmaceuticals into a different pool which over time will destroy healthcare as we know it IMHO. For those who actually need it, healthcare costs will sky rocket using this model. 

The other thing no one seems to be talking about is now that the Republicans repealed the individual mandate (yes that made it into the tax bill), Medicare as we know it will also take a major hit and not just as a result of the spending cuts. Just wait until the first lawsuit is filed challenging the requirement of the individual mandate that all Americans pay into the Medicare system to ensure their health and financial security in their elder years. Healthcare only works if EVERYONE participates and contributes to the system. 

With respect to the tax bill the Republicans just passed, the current estimate is that Medicare will be deprived of $25 BILLION immediately. Hope the elderly can afford that cut - it’s a doozie! 

But… I suppose if you’re a Trump voter, you already believe the Congressional Budget Office is fake news anyway. Shouldn’t take long to debunk this one, but at what cost to human life? 

GOP Tax Bill Prompts Automatic Spending Cuts (source: Wallstreet  Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/tax-bill-2017/card/1510696375

The Republican tax bill would force $25 billion in immediate cuts to Medicare, according to the Congressional Budget Office <https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/115th-congress-2017-2018/costestimate/hr1hoyerletter.pdf>, a move that could be stopped only with a bipartisan vote.

The future of our healthcare is so scary. 
 
SG
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