From the Desk of Bob McNett….
Employer and Individual Mandates to be Axed Under Republican Obamacare Replacement Bill.
Larger employers will no longer have to pay penalties if they do not offer their employees health insurance. Individuals will no longer be forced to pay a tax penalty if they do not buy health insurance coverage.
These are only two of the changes that will happen if the Republican healthcare bill, geared to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), is passed into law. Details of the proposed legislation were revealed yesterday.
The Trump administration and House Republicans are continuing their unhesitating efforts, in just the first few months of the the Trump presidency, to unravel various rules and regulations instituted under eight years of a Democratic White House.
Much of the basic structure of the ACA will be maintained, including no pre-existing condition waits, coverage for adult children to age 26, and the availablity of subsidies to assist people who buy insurance on the individual marketplace.
However, major changes are also called for. These include:
#1—No employer mandate….This change will affect some McNett Agency group health clients that have over 50 employees or “FTE’s.” Even though the majority of employers with 50-plus employees maintain a group medical plan even though it will not be required, it looks like all the complex, time-consuming reporting requirements that these employers face under the current law will be eliminated.
#2—No individual tax penalties for non-compliance…..Under the current law, if an individual chooses to go without insurance he or she will pay a tax penalty of 2.5% of income. Not so under the Republican replacement bill. However, if a person enrolls in coverage, and then drops it, he or she can be charged up to 30% higher premium if they ever want to re-enroll.
#3—Medicaid expansion would be rolled back…..The health insurance program for the poor, expanded by some states under Obamacare, would be rolled back. Instead of an open-ended commitment, the federal government would pay the states a flat amount per Medicaid enrollee each year.
#4—Subsidies for individual insurance will be based more on age, less on income……Subsidies would start at $2,000 per year for someone under age 30, and increase to $4,000 per year for a person 60 or older. Subsidies for families would be up to $14,000 yearly. This could increase subsidies for some compared to the current plan, but reduce them for others.
Predictably, members of the House and Senate from both sides of the aisle are expressing concern over a number of it’s aspects.
Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the House, warned that “Republicans will force tens of millions of families to pay more for worse coverage, and push millions off health care entirely.”
Four Republican Senators signed a letter saying that they were concerned the bill did not do enough to protect states like theirs that had expanded Medicaid under the ACA law.
In the House, Republican leaders will have to deal with a group of conservative members who want a “clean repeal” of the health care law. The House Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative representatives in the House, wrote on a Fox News website “Conservatives don’t want new taxes, new entitlements or an ‘ObamaCare Lite’ bill.”
Even with expected opposition from both sides, leaders plan on forging ahead with getting the bill passed as soon as possible.
Robert K. McNett, LUTCF
The McNett Agency
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