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Republicans Just Released Their Obamacare Replacement Plan

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On Monday, House Republicans released their Obamacare replacement plan.

According to the Associated Press, the Republican plan will cover 20 million less people than currently covered the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The new plan will also replace income-based subsidies and replace them with age-based subsidies, meaning a 25-year-old making $30,000 a year could receive a lower subsidy than billionaire Bill Gates.

Keeping to the Affordable Care Act, the Republican plan will keep children on their parents’ insurance until they turn 26. Patients with preexisting conditions will be afforded some protections such as lifting lifetime caps on care.

The Medicaid expansion set forth by Obamacare would continue under the plan until 2020. After that, states receiving additional funding would lose all expanded funds.

Republicans have not provided details as to how they will pay for this new plan, since it removes the mandates requiring people to buy insurance or pay a fee, noting, “We are still discussing details, but we are committed to repealing Obamacare and replacing it with fiscally responsible policies that restore the free market and protect taxpayers.”

Other healthcare funding measures set forth by Obamacare such as increased taxes for higher earners and insurers would end as of 2018.

Voting on the 123-page plan will begin on Wednesday.

Originally published: March 7, 2017
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