From the Desk of Bob McNett…..
“Obamacare Light†is a term used by many when describing the Republican health care bill. It retains some of the more popular aspects of the current law, while jettisoning other, less popular aspects.
Today, the Republican Senate released a “discussions draft†of the bill, generally describing what is planned to be in the actual bill. A copy of this discussion draft is attached to this email for your review.
The bill will keep and strengthen the so-called exchanges or marketplaces that people can buy individual health insurance on.
It will keep the subsidies that the government pays to people of even relatively higher incomes to assist them in buying insurance. The bill, however, will bring the income amounts eligible for a subsidy down over time. Also, while the House version had the subsidies based more on age, the Senate bill will retain more of an income-based test.
The draft does “preserve access to care†for those with pre-existing conditions. How this will be done we won’t know until the actual bill is released.
Big news is that the individual mandate will be repealed, so those people choosing to go uninsured will no longer pay a penalty. However, these folks, if they decide to buy insurance later, will pay a permanent 30% premium surcharge and have to wait until a shortened open enrollment period to purchase coverage. So, there are still penalties for non-compliance.
For Employers, if the bill is passed, larger businesses will see the unpopular employer mandate go away, and hopefully see the massive reporting requirements go away with it. This has been a real mess for a lot of larger employers, with the IRS admitting that they themselves are far behind in processing all reports form employers.
Obamacare, when it was dreamed up in 2008, took it’s pattern from the Massachusetts model, installed under Mitt Romney as governor, who took the idea from a Republican conservative think tank.
Now, the new Republican law is looking like it will use the same basic chassis as these old systems, but add a few options and delete a few more unpopular options.
Keep in mind that the document released today is a “Discussion Draft.†This does indicate, however, that we might expect the actual bill to be released soon. Also, keep in mind that until a new bill is passed, Obamacare as we know it is still in force and must be complied with.
Once the actual bill is released, we will know more details. Then, get ready for yet another big political debate!
Robert K. McNett, LUTCF
The McNett Agency
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