Millions of Americans depend on the ACA’s premium assistance and Medicaid expansion for assistance. Furthermore, families can keep their children on their health plan until they turn 26 years old.
Though Republicans were unsuccessful in passing a repeal bill through Congress, their campaign against the Affordable Care Act continues in court – meaning millions could potentially lose health coverage should the ACA be repealed.
1. You’ll lose your health insurance
The Affordable Care Act made healthcare accessible for millions of Americans. By expanding Medicaid and creating health insurance exchanges, as well as offering premium tax credits for low and middle income Americans to afford coverage, millions have gained healthcare coverage thanks to this law.
Additionally, the Affordable Care Act eliminated lifetime and annual maximums on medical coverage, providing people who suffered catastrophic illnesses with unlimited coverage without ever running out.
The Affordable Care Act’s financial security provisions have enabled many Americans to avoid bankruptcy and eviction due to unaffordable medical bills, according to research. After expanding Medicaid through the ACA, medical debt sent to collection agencies fell and there were 50,000 fewer evictions; striking down the ACA would reverse these gains; an estimate suggests over 20 million would lose coverage as a result; this includes nearly 4 million adults who gained coverage through its expansion of Medicaid coverage.
2. You’ll lose your tax credits
The Affordable Care Act provides several financial supports to assist people in affording health insurance. These include refundable premium tax credits for people whose incomes fall between 100% and 400% of poverty who purchase individual marketplace coverage; cost-sharing subsidies which reduce deductibles and copays of some marketplace plans purchased; as well as Medicaid expansion funding distributed directly to states for individuals not eligible for traditional private coverage.
Repeal would dramatically raise the price of health coverage, placing it out of reach for many – particularly those suffering illness – as well as cause families without access to affordable healthcare to spend less money elsewhere in support of economic growth.
Replacement proposals vary significantly in their approaches to structuring refundable premium tax credits. Clicking the maps allows you to see how the amounts found in ACA premium tax credits compare with leading replacement proposals.
3. You’ll lose your Medicaid coverage
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandates private health insurers to cover cancer screenings, cholesterol tests and annual checkups without copayment or deductible. Furthermore, preexisting conditions are now eligible to access health coverage without discrimination by insurance providers.
Repeal of the Affordable Care Act would mean taking away premium subsidies for over 21 million marketplace shoppers, leaving them without health coverage. Furthermore, repeal would repeal Medicaid expansion by cutting federal funding that covers 90% of state costs for individuals eligible through this program. Without federal support states would likely not be able to maintain coverage for millions of low income adults who gained eligibility under this program and thus lead to an increase in uninsured persons including millions who rely on parental plans as well as 12 million who depend on Medicaid coverage.
4. You’ll lose your protection from pre-existing conditions
Current law under the ACA protects more than 50 million Americans with preexisting health conditions from being denied or charged significantly higher premiums, which would become much less accessible should it be repealed. These people would lose this protection should its repeal occur.
Families of children diagnosed with congenital heart disease are currently eligible to access coverage under the Affordable Care Act due to his condition being considered pre-existing. If repeal occurs, this couple would face an uncertain future for their son’s healthcare needs.
If the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is repealed, millions of Americans could be forced to choose between accessing preventive services like cancer screenings, cholesterol tests and annual checkups and affording expensive prescription medicines.
5. You’ll lose your ability to stay on your employer’s plan
Some supporters of repealing Obamacare mistakenly believe that replacing it with state-based insurance exchanges and Medicaid will bring healthcare costs under control; this assumption is inaccurate; individuals could pay more for coverage as the data shows otherwise.
Without the Affordable Care Act (ACA), millions of Americans could be subjected to higher premiums and even lose coverage they already possess, along with forgoing preventive care such as cancer screenings, cholesterol tests, and annual check-ups – potentially costing them millions over their lifetimes in health care costs. Furthermore, without this protection 105 million Americans with employer coverage – mostly those under their employer plans – would risk hitting lifetime benefit caps much earlier.
