Democrats have been trying to blame Trump and the GOP for rising health insurance premiums because Obamacare subsidies weren’t extended. The truth is, though, that Obamacare failed to deliver on its promise of “affordable” health care, and extending the subsidies wouldn’t have solved the problem.
But the House GOP has put forth a serious alternative to the disastrous Obamacare, that relies on transparency, consumer choice, and market competition rather than more government control.
For years, families on the exchanges have watched premiums and deductibles soar while Democrats called it success. Premiums for Obamacare coverage have nearly tripled since 2010, and deductibles have exploded. In fact, Obamacare plans are typically worse and more expensive than typical employer plans.
House Republicans have now proposed the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act, a bill designed to give voters better options and more transparency. It is not a straight-up repeal-and-replace of Obamacare. But it does go straight at some of the worst structural problems that Obama’s signature legislation created and entrenched, especially in the individual market. The message is simple: less bureaucracy, more options.
“Nearly 15 years ago, the Democrats’ Unaffordable Care Act broke the American health care system,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement. “Since its inception, premium costs have skyrocketed, networks have shrunk, and the system has become bloated, inefficient, and riddled with waste, fraud, and abuse. While Democrats demand that taxpayers write bigger checks to insurance companies to hide the cost of their failed law, House Republicans are tackling the real drivers of health care costs to provide affordable care, increase access and choice, and restore integrity to our nation’s health care system for all Americans.”
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According to Johnson, the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act “will actually deliver affordable health care – and we look forward to advancing it through the House.”
The bill aims at pharmacy benefit managers, the middlemen who decide which drugs patients get and what they pay. For years, PBMs hid behind opaque rebates and formularies while families and employers watched costs soar. Now they must disclose spending, rebates, spread pricing, and formulary decisions, giving employers, pharmacists, and patients transparency that has long not been part of the process.
It also expands coverage beyond Obamacare. Association Health Plans let small businesses and the self-employed pool together, gaining negotiating power like big corporations. As someone who is self-employed, I really like this idea.
The bill restarts cost-sharing reduction payments to help lower-income exchange enrollees afford premiums and out-of-pocket costs.
Next week, Republicans plan to take the bill to the House floor. From what I can tell, while this isn’t the repeal and replacement of Obamacare that I’d like, the key ideas sound good.
