The Republican replacement plan for Obamacare hurts the most vulnerable people in our society: poorer and older Americans.
But the Republican plan does benefit some people, albeit at the expense of 24 million who would lose insurance by 2026.
So where do you fit into this? That’s what this calculator is for.
How we made it
To create this calculator, we worked with Urban Institute researcher Linda Blumberg, who extrapolated how much insurance premiums would cost on average for all people under 64. She used the Congressional Budget Office’s projections of how much premiums would be in 2020 under current law and under the Republican replacement plan.
We couldn't take everything into account. For example: 1) Geographic differences don't affect how affordable a plan is under current law, but it would under the Republican plan, and 2) we didn't take into account the 30 percent premium surcharge some people would face if they didn't maintain coverage under the Republican plan.
That said, this calculator should give you a decent idea of whether you benefit from this plan — and, if so, who is hurt on the other end.
The calculator
Obamacare did the opposite of what the Republican plan would do
One of the more important accomplishments of Obamacare was that it disproportionately helped low-income people.
If you played around with the calculator, you can see why: Through various policies — like expanded Medicaid, cost-sharing subsidies, and premium caps — Obamacare tried to make sure low-income Americans were able to afford relatively decent health care plans.
But look at the number of people that CBO thinks this Republican plan would take insurance away from. A chunk of these people are low-income Americans:
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Another chunk of these people are older Americans, who would be on the hook for much higher premiums — and potentially decide not to buy insurance. In a twisted way, it would benefit younger and wealthier people in the insurance pool. Without older people who tend to have higher medical bills, it would lower premiums for everyone else.
Go back to the calculator and play around with different scenarios so you get a sense of how you fit into this Republican replacement plan, where the most vulnerable people get less help.
