The widely-known and addressed Affordable Care Act, previously known as Obamacare, is in danger of becoming obsolete as Republicans in Congress have proposed a new GOP Healthcare Bill.
The new bill is unconstitutional and needs to be put to a halt before millions of Americans are uninsured and have the possibility of living the rest of their lives with serious medical problem(s) that could be left untreated.
Located in the U.S Constitution, Section 1 of the 14th Amendment focuses on equal protections under the law. Section 5 of this amendment states, “The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.”
Republicans and their new bill could absolutely reverse the positive ramifications of the last eight years of Obamacare, reducing the number of insured members by $24 million.
According to CNN Money, the uninsured rate among U.S. adults declined to 11.9 percent in the first quarter of 2015. That 5.2 percent change, from late 2013 to early 2015, was the lowest we have seen since the Gallup-Healthways Wellbeing Index started tracking uninsured members back in 2008.
The new bill will primarily affect those who voted in favor of President Trump, which are lower income, older voters in conservative, rural areas of the country. Ironically, those same citizens who felt as if they were going to “make America great again” are the same ones who will be affected the most by the person they put their trust in.
Obamacare was cheaper without a doubt. If the new bill passes, our pocketbooks will suffer the consequences.
According to The Washington Post, the 37-page GOP legislation stated that premiums would be 15 to 20 percent higher in the first year compared to those under the Affordable Care Act, but on average would be 10 percent lower by the year 2026. Generally speaking, older citizens in rural areas who voted for Trump will be paying a significant amount more for premiums than younger Americans.
As young American myself, I understand that people my age are still trying to figure things out. If the new bill passes, there will no longer be a tax penalty for not having a health care plan, which means that young Americans will no longer be encouraged to buy health care after leaving their parents plan at 26 years of age. Under Obamacare, citizens would receive a tax penalty for not being insured.
That penalty was sort of an “encourager” for young Americans to sign up for health care.
Under the new bill, citizens would no longer have a tax penalty placed over their head for not being insured. Therefore, young Americans will be less encouraged to sign up for a health care plan, placing their own health at risk. Even with the tax penalty, Obamacare was the better option for Americans, especially for those young adults in college.
This new bill is just the beginning of multiple dissatisfactory proposals from the Republican Congress and will eventually drive this country down the drain.
Obamacare was, without a doubt, going down the clear and unquestionable path that he said it would be back in 2008.
It is time for us to truly be Americans, and stay that way, by standing up for our rights and freedoms. Americans are strongly encouraged to write a letter to their state senator demanding change. Let’s get Americans back on their feet, one letter at a time.
