Risk & Business Magazine Sterling Insurance Spring 2017 | Page 6

OBAMACARE UPDATE
An Update
On Obamacare
T
he Affordable Care Act (ACA),
commonly referred to as
Obamacare, has been slowly
rising in popularity among the
American public. A majority
now views the ACA more favorably than
unfavorably according to the Kaiser Family
Foundation’s February polling data—
the highest level ever recorded in over
60 tracking polls. Yet President Trump
had long promised its speedy repeal and
replacement. Details of the Republican
plan, the American Health Care Act
(AHCA), were released on March 6, 2017.
As we all know, the bill never made it to a
vote in the US House of Representatives.
While it seems that US healthcare reform
has been put on the legislative backburner
for now, a discussion of Obamacare and
what was meant to replace it still serves
a useful purpose as the AHCA may serve
as the starting point when the issue
next comes before US lawmakers.
The AHCA, which was proposed by
House Republicans, actually consisted
of two different bills—one issued by
the House Ways and Means Committee
and one by the House Energy and
Commerce Committee. Although it
would have largely change the ACA, it
was not actually an outright repeal. The
proposed law sought to rely more heavily
on free markets to allocate coverage,
and eliminate coverage requirements for
both individuals and corporate-based
plans. In a nutshell, AHCA removed the
mandatory requirement of healthcare
coverage, instead relying on tax credits
to encourage individuals to purchase
health insurance of their own volition.
There were popular provisions of
Obamacare that would have remained
in place under the AHCA:
6
•
•
•
Coverage for pre-existing conditions
A ban on lifetime coverage caps; and
The ability for young adults
to remain on their parents’
health plans until age 26
“THE PROPOSED
LAW SOUGHT
TO RELY MORE
HEAVILY ON
FREE MARKETS
TO ALLOCATE
COVERAGE...”
One particularly contentious part of
the Republican plan was a clampdown
on Medicaid recipients’ entitlement
to health care, which would perhaps
have been replaced by a per person
allotment implemented at the state
level. House Democrats decried the
proposed law, claiming that tens of
millions of families would end up paying
a lot more for much less comprehensive
coverage or lose their coverage entirely.
As previously mentioned, the proposed
law died without coming to a vote.
As of the time of this magazine’s
publication, some Republicans were
pushing for even further deregulation,
arguing for provisions like interstate
insurance shopping and increased
usage of Health Savings Accounts.
At risk in this tabled healthcare debate
are the 20 million Americans who have
gained access to healthcare plans under
BY: ANDREW TURNBULL
STERLING INSURANCE
the ACA’s mandate who could potentially
have had to relinquish coverage. These
families would most likely resort to less
use of preventative care measures and
doctor visits and greater use of costly
emergency room visits. President Trump
promised a smooth transition to any
new plan, but given the contention
between, and even within, political
parties, how any future measures would
be implemented with millions of families
potentially affected is unknown.
In the meantime, approximately 9.2
million Americans enrolled in the
Affordable Care Act in 2017, a number
that was less than expected, possibly
due to its future uncertainty as well
as constant negative rhetoric by the
Trump Administration. Against this
backdrop, there is also disarray among
providers, with Aetna, one of the
nation’s top five insurers, pulling out
of most of its Obamacare exchanges.
Amid all this uncertainty, Sterling will
continue to follow all future proposals
and debate on this important topic and
advise our clients accordingly. Please call
us at [phone] with your questions
and concerns about future healthcare
reform proposals as they arise. +
Andrew Turnbull joined Sterling
Insurance Group in 2014. He has been
a licensed independent agent since 2002.
Andrew’s expertise is in the development
and implementation of creative Benefit,
Property & Casualty, and Management
Liability programs for Private Practice
Healthcare Providers. He also specializes
in those programs for both Non-Profit
and For-Profit organizations. Contact
Andrew at aturnbull@sterlingagency.
com or [phone].