Ever since Barack Obama stepped down from his presidency, many are concerned as to how things would change, for better or worse. Healthcare has always been expensive for families across the nation, but even if it was affordable, it would be challenging to cover due to insurance companies denying coverage towards people who have any preexisting medical conditions. However, this changed in 2010, when the Affordable Healthcare Act, also known as Obamacare, was signed into law. This act, according to Obama, “…should have some basic security when it comes to their health care”.

Now, Republicans attempt to repeal and replace the existing bill with a new republican health care bill. The American Health Care Act was released to the public, with an outcry against it. Many deeming it as “dead on arrival”. The American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association, the American Nurses Association, and the AARP have all come against it as well. Essentially, this new health care bill is seen as a downgrade from Obamacare.

One of the biggest changes this bill has to offer is the replacement of insurance tax credits with a flat tax credit based on age. What was calculated based on wage income, will now be calculated on age. This new bill would also cut $370 billion in Medicaid costs to states in the next ten years resulting in the loss of coverage for millions of Americans. Six to fifteen million people could lose their insurance, and voters apparently will lose at least five thousand dollars in taxes. In comparison, Obamacare covered over twenty million more young adults, providing free preventive care until the age of twenty-six.

With all of this in mind, who would benefit from this act? Simply put, the top one percent of incomes will receive an estimated tax break of thirty-three thousand dollars, and those in the top 0.1 percent will receive an average tax cut of $197,000. On March 24, 2017, it was withdrawn after failing to gain sufficient support to pass it but is being negotiated for revisions.

– Alex Ortega