Sticker shock and buyer's remorse over Trump and Health Insurance

I have to feel at least a little bit sorry for Martha Brawley, Monroe, North Carolina. She actually voted, at age 55, for President for the first time — and voted for Donald Trump — largely because he promised to fix the health insurance system for her:

'"I'm 55. This is the first time in my life I voted, and I voted for Trump hoping that he would change the insurance so I could get good health care," she told ABC News. "I might as well have not voted."'

That's because, under the House GOPs AHCA, her insurance will suddenly cost a lot more.

'She pays about $260 per month for a Blue Cross plan and receives a subsidy of $724 per month to cover the rest of her premium. Under the House plan, she would receive $3,500 a year in tax credits — $5,188 less than she gets under the Affordable Care Act.

“I’m scared, I’ll tell you that right now, to think about not having insurance at my age,” said Ms. Brawley, who underwent a liver biopsy on Monday after her doctor found that she has an autoimmune liver disease. “If I didn’t have insurance, these doctors wouldn’t see me.”'

Not only does the AHCA provide lower support (as tax credits), but it allows insurance companies to bump up insurance costs for older people.

'While the tax credits in the Republican proposal are the most generous for older people — $4,000 for a 60-year-old compared with $2,000 for a 25-year-old — they end up covering less of an older person’s costs. As soon as next year, the Republican plan would allow insurers to begin charging older individuals much more than younger individuals. Insurers are prohibited today from charging the older person more than three times as much as the youngest, but the Republican plan would allow them to charge five times as much. A 64-year-old could see annual premiums increase by almost 30 percent to $13,100 on average, according to the S.&P. analysis.'

But the Trump Administration is sure there won't be any problem.

'On "Good Morning America," Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said, "Our goal is to make certain costs come down."

In response to Brawley's complaints about possible cost increases for her insurance, Price raised the issue of choice. "We want to make sure she is able to select the physician and treatment that she wants," he said.'

That's nice, Tom, but that wasn't her question.

'When pressed about whether he could guarantee coverage for Brawley, Price cited other aspects of the proposal, including state grants, and said, "You can't pick out one individual and say that individual isn't going to be able to get coverage. Right now people are losing coverage. We have a plan that will allow individuals to pick the coverage that they want and … the physician and treatment model that they want."'

Which, of course, doesn't answer her question, either.

'"All these people who talk in politics have insurance. People like me don't," she told ABC News. "They can talk big, and all we can do is step back and hope for the best. We are at their mercy."'

Making America At Their Mercy Again! Hey, that's catchy!

More gory details here: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/07/health/risk-of-losing-health-insurance-in-republican-plan.html

55-year-old first-time voter who chose Trump protests large increase in health costs – ABC News

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