Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are vowing to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, the signature health care overhaul of President Obama.
Trump has offered a few ideas of where he’d like to see a health care overhaul go, such as a greater reliance on health savings accounts, but he hasn’t provided a detailed proposal.
The absence of specifics on health care from the president-elect makes the 37-page plan that Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has released the fullest outline of what Republicans would like to replace Obamacare. Some health policy analysts say it looks a bit like Obamacare light.
“Republicans through this plan have embraced, I think rightfully so, the basic idea that everybody in the U.S. should have health insurance,” says Jim Capretta, a health policy fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. “And people who are outside the employer system should get some level of financial help through a tax credit, because, frankly, that’s similar to the tax break that is available through employer coverage.”
Republicans had been criticized for years for promising to repeal the ACA and offering nothing as a replacement. Ryan unveiled the proposal at AEI in June.
HENRY KOTULA 