ICYMI: Union Leader Covers Report: 18 Million People Would Lose Health Insurance in First Year if Affordable Care Act is Repealed without a Replacement
WASHINGTON - Today, the Union Leader highlighted a report issued by the Congressional Budget Office stating the negative impact repealing the Affordable Care Act without a replacement would have on millions of Americans. According to the report, 18 million hard-working Americans would lose their health insurance in the first year if the Affordable Care Act is repealed without a replacement plan, with the number of uninsured Americans skyrocketing to 32 million by 2026.
Yesterday, Senator Maggie Hassan joined Senator Jeanne Shaheen for a roundtable discussion with New Hampshire healthcare providers and policy leaders at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock clinic in Manchester, assessing the dire consequences repealing the Affordable Care Act without a replacement would have for tens of thousands of Granite Staters, including those receiving critical substance abuse and behavioral health services through Medicaid expansion.
See below for highlights of coverage:
A nonpartisan report said repealing Obamacare without a replacement would cost 18 million people their insurance in the first year, one of the red flags raised by New Hampshire's U.S. senators even as President-elect Donald Trump promises "insurance for everybody."
...The CBO report said the GOP plan, without replacement, would increase the number of uninsured to 32 million by 2026, including previously proposed elimination of Medicaid expansion under the law. Premiums for individual policies through the marketplace would increase 20 to 25 percent in the first year and double by 2026, according to the report.
Hassan, a former two-term governor, said the fate of the "New Hampshire Health Protection Program," established while she was governor, hangs in the balance.
"When the Congress, the Republican majority in Congress and the President-elect, talk about repealing the Affordable Care Act they are talking about repealing our bipartisan Medicaid expansion program," Hassan said.
She said Medicaid expansion provided coverage for more than 50,000 Granite Staters, including thousands with access to behavioral health and substance misuse services.
...Shaheen, in an interview, said she expects Congress to work together on proposed coverage. She has not seen Trump's proposal, but noted she has for years supported efforts to lower prescription drug costs, something Trump has highlighted.
"I certainly hope we are going to hold Donald Trump's feet to the fire," Shaheen said. "He says he's got a plan - I want to see the plan, I want to see what's in the plan, make sure nobody gets hurt by it."
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