Republicans Plan to Cancel Health Insurance Benefits
Republicans in Congress have announced their intention to repeal the new health insurance reform legislation, and all of its benefits for senior citizens, people with pre-existing conditions and children.
The GOP wants to vote to rescind the benefits provided under the Affordable Care Act before President Obama’s State of the Union speech in January.
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., provides on his website a description of the new law’s benefits – benefits that Pennsylvanians would lose if Republicans successfully repeal the Affordable Care Act. Sen. Casey’s account is accurate for other states as well, with the only difference the number of people who would suffer if the GOP succeeds.
For example, the Senator notes that the new law already has provided two important benefits, the small business health care tax credit and the health insurance program for people who have pre-existing conditions and who have been denied health insurance.
In addition, the senator’s website notes that beginning in January, Medicare beneficiaries will be able to get an annual wellness visit.
A comprehensive guide to the law’s benefits for Pennsylvanians, which applies residents of all states, also is posted on the Senator’s site. It notes, for example, that the new law, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, will provide coverage for 32 million uninsured people while reducing the federal deficit by $143 billion over the next decade. And it notes that the law empowers the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and state insurance commissioners to review new plans that announce egregious premium increases.
These are just some of the benefits that Republicans seek to deny Americans, while, at the same time, increasing the national deficit.
