It is far from clear that the Republican plan will work.
FOR such an important bill, it has an unusually simple name. On March 6th Republicans in the House unveiled—and President Donald Trump endorsed—the American Health Care Act (AHCA). The bill would overhaul Obamacare (full title: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act), which Republicans have decried since its passage in 2010. Obamacare had two main ingredients: an expansion of Medicaid (health insurance for the poor); and a reform of the so-called “individual” health-insurance market, which serves those who are not covered through an employer. The AHCA would revamp both. Each revamp gives Republicans a political problem. Neither looks certain to work…
The new bill would, in stages, remove federal funding for Medicaid’s expansion after 2020. At the same time, it would change how the federal government funds health care for those left in the programme. Currently, Washington helps pick up the tab for the medical expenses of those enrolled, chipping in a little more than half the total bill. The AHCA would instead give states a fixed payment for each person, and link it to medical inflation. States could choose how to spend the money.
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