Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has delivered his plan to replace Obamacare. The GOP wants to repeal the law as soon as possible, but Paul has urged the party to wait until they have a proper replacement plan in place to activate. He also noted that President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) agree with him. The Hill reported:
Paul’s plan includes a tax credit of up to $5,000 per person to use as part of a Health Savings Account to pay for medical care. That tax credit appears to be larger than those offered in other Republican healthcare plans.The plan would abolish many of the central elements of ObamaCare, including the mandate that everyone has coverage. It would eliminate the minimum standards for which health services an insurance plan must cover, which Republicans argue would allow for cheaper, less comprehensive plans.
The plan will also “eliminate some of ObamaCare’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions.” Paul offered “a two-year period where people with pre-existing conditions could get coverage.” After the period runs out, those patients can keep the coverage “if they continuously maintained coverage.”
But Paul concentrated the most on Health Savings Accounts. His plan will eliminate “the maximum allowable annual contribution” so people can put as much money into the HSA as they want. He also removed the requirement that those with an HSA must enroll “in a high deductible health care plan.” That way those who use Medicare, VA, TRICARE, and IHS have to the option to establish their own HSA.
Paul’s plan allows people to use money in their HSA to purchase health insurance. People may also rollover their HSA account to a child, parent, grandparent, or spouse.
Earlier this week, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) talked about their combined plan to replace Obamacare. This plan would leave the majority of the power to the states, letting each one decide “whether the want to keep ObamaCare.” The states that want Obamacare can keep the entire with “its subsidies, mandates and protections for people with pre-existing conditions.” Those that choose to opt out will have another plan to “provide a uniform tax credit linked to a health savings account to help people afford a basic, less comprehensive health insurance plan.”
Paul found their bill “lacking, mostly because it allows too much of Obamacare to potentially survive on the state level.” From Reason:
He says he believes ultimately the best way to deal with very sick people with pre-existing conditions will lie with Medicaid and the states who can “look for innovative ways” to provide necessary care without bankrupting the system.As far as the process goes, Paul says he does not expect a real repeal vote for at least two weeks. In the meantime, he says he is “pushing hard” his bill, which he’s “sent to leaders in the House working on the issue, discussed it with leaders in the Senate.”He’s “trying to emphasize that this bill has the potential to insure millions at cheaper cost than under Obamacare and has great ability to straighten out the mess in the individual markets.”
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY