EDITORIAL: ‘Repeal and replace’ now more than a slogan

Sept. 14--DEFENDERS of Obamacare argue that critics who call for repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act have no credible plan for fulfilling the latter half of that promise. That argument took a hit last week when a new analysis showed one proposed alternative would be far cheaper than Obamacare while providing private insurance coverage to more people with less market disruption.

The proposal, unveiled by the 2017 Project, includes elements from other plans, including one developed in part by Oklahoma's own U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee. Officials with the 2017 Project call for full repeal of Obamacare and say their replacement plan will address three major problems of the U.S. health system by reducing the number of uninsured citizens, aiding those with pre-existing conditions, and lowering costs.

The replacement plan proposed by the 2017 Project would provide a refundable tax credit to citizens who buy private insurance. The tax credit would total $1,200 for those younger than 35, $2,100 for those between 35 and 50, and $3,000 for those age 50 and up. There also would be a $900 credit per child. Citizens who don't use the full value of the credit could deposit the remainder in a health savings account.

The plan calls for providing $7.5 billion per year in defined-contribution federal funding for states to run "high risk" pools to provide coverage to those with pre-existing conditions.

Notably, the 2017 Project's plan doesn't include any individual or employer mandates, doesn't micromanage citizens' insurance choices, and doesn't force anyone to violate their religious beliefs, unlike Obamacare's requirement that employers pay for abortifacients. It truly allows people to keep their current coverage if they like it. And it doesn't require an expansion of Medicaid, a program that is already causing budget problems in many states.

A new analysis by the nonpartisan Center for Health and Economy (H&E) finds the 2017 Project's proposal would spend $1.13 trillion less in federal money than Obamacare from 2014 through 2023. Yet H&E also concludes the plan would provide private health insurance to 6 million more people than will occur under Obamacare. At the same time, premiums would decrease in the individual market "in all plan categories for both single and family coverage" with reductions ranging from 4 percent to 25 percent. And provider access in the individual market would increase by up to 57 percent by 2023.

Under Obamacare, 249 million people would have insurance coverage and 38 million would remain uninsured (13 percent of the population). Under the 2017 Project's alternative, 243 million would be covered with 44 million (15 percent of the population) uninsured. But the extra 6 million covered under Obamacare will not receive private coverage; those individuals would be dumped into Medicaid, a program that's generally associated with worse health outcomes than private insurance.

Like any plan, the 2017 Project's proposal will have its share of critics. It involves substantial federal involvement in health care, which will be frowned upon by some conservatives. But the proposal clearly increases quality health insurance coverage to a far higher number of Americans, at far less cost, and in a far simpler fashion than Obamacare. This means "repeal and replace" is no longer just a campaign slogan, but now an actual plan of action.

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