Get the Facts on the Proposed Replacement for the ACA

The healthcare plan introduced by Republicans to replace the Affordable Care Act would have disastrous consequences for older Americans and would make health insurance virtually impossible for poor and lower-income individuals. Although Donald Trump promised increased access and lower costs, many would in fact get the opposite.

To Learn More

1. For an excellent summary of the key features of the Republicans’ plan, see Replacement Healthcare Plan Would Cost Poor and Older People the Most in a recent issue of The Guardian.

2. An excellent and easy-to-use interactive map created by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows how the ACA tax credits would change under the Republicans’ proposed plan. Simply type in income and age (and state, if you want to compare changes only within one state), to see how much increase or decrease an individual would get under the Republicans’ plan.

Here’s an example for Buncombe County: A 60-year-old earning $20,000 a year would get 74% LESS in tax credits under the Republicans’ plan, making health insurance completely unaffordable. That gap gradually narrows as income rises—the 60-year-old would get 72% less at an income of $30,000 a year, 68% less at $40,000, 65% less at $50,000—until reaching an income of $75,000, at which point that 60-year-old would get 75% MORE. (Source: Tax Credits under the Affordable Care Act vs. the American Health Care Act: An Interactive Map, data presented by the Kaiser Family Foundation)

3. Finally, if you want to dig deeper, take a look this summary of the various proposals put forth in Congress, showing how the Republicans’ replacement proposals compare to each other and how they compare to the ACA: Compare Proposals to Replace The Affordable Care Act

What To Do Now?

Write and call your representatives in Congress! Click here for their phone numbers and mailing addresses. Remember that phone calls and heartfelt postcards or letters will probably have the greatest effect.

Tip: Write and call again and again, stating a different point each time.

Tip: Contact your reps every day for the next few weeks: They aim to push this through before congressional recess begins the first week of April!

Tip: If you have a personal story of how you have been helped by the ACA—especially if you see how that would be taken away by a replacement plan—tell your story.

Remember: They work for us! It’s our duty to let them know what we want.