OKPOLICY.ORG
The House Republican plan, known as the American Health Care Act (AHCA), would dramatically increase the cost of health coverage.
More than 100,000 Oklahomans used a tax credit to buy health coverage in 2016, reducing their average monthly premium to $80 per month. The GOP plan calls for skimpier tax credits that only change with age, with no adjustment for income or geography.
Under this plan, Oklahomans’ average tax credit would decrease by more than $4,600 by 2020 — losing nearly twothirds of its value. Furthermore, the House Republican health plan would allow insurers to charge older enrollees up to five times more for their coverage than younger enrollees. Older Oklahomans’ health coverage would become much more expensive as the tax credit used to help pay for it shrivels.
The House Republican health plan would lead to unprecedented Medicaid cuts.
Currently, Medicaid is a vital safety net program that responds to need by allowing anyone who qualifies to access coverage. More than 800,000 Oklahomans, two in three of whom are children, get their health coverage through Medicaid. The GOP plan would put a “per capita cap” on federal Medicaid funds to states and cut federal Medicaid spending by 25 percent over the next decade. Oklahoma would have to make up the difference from its own budget — or cut provider reimbursements, coverage, and services. Thousands of Oklahomans, including seniors, people with disabilities, and children, could lose coverage or be parked on long waiting lists as a result.
The House Republican health plan would spike the uninsured rate.
According to analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, by 2018 14 million people would lose or drop their health coverage, rising to 24 million in 2026. That year, 52 million people total would be without coverage, nearly double the number who would be uninsured under current law.
What You Can Do
Contact your Congressional representatives and tell them you oppose the American Health Care Act and any other proposal that reduces access to health coverage or restructures Medicaid. You can find contact information for your US Senators and US Representatives at www.whoismyrepresentative.com.
