Under the Affordable Care Act repeal, rural Oklahomans could lose out, report shows

March 14--Under the proposed Affordable Care Act repeal, rural Oklahomans could see a steep decline in the amount of tax credits they receive to help pay for coverage, a recent report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found.

Under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, rural Oklahomans get an average tax credit of $7,508 to help pay for coverage.

However, under the repeal plan, these residents would likely see a 62 percent reduction, receiving only $2,866 in tax credits in 2020, according to the center, sometimes described as a left-leaning research group.

Oklahoma is among the states that would be hardest hit by the policy change:

The average tax credit in high-cost states would fall sharply under the House plan. Enrollees in 11 states would see their tax credits cut by more than half, and people in seven states -- Alaska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Alabama, Nebraska, Wyoming, and West Virginia -- would face average credit reductions of more than $4,000.

http://www.cbpp.org/blog/rural-residents-face-especially-big-cuts-in-premium-help-under-house-plan

As the Kaiser Family Foundation explains:

Generally, people who are older, lower-income, or live in high-premium areas (like Alaska and Arizona) receive larger tax credits under the ACA than they would under the American Health Care Act replacement.

Conversely, some people who are younger, higher-income, or live in low-premium areas (like Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Washington) may receive larger assistance under the replacement plan.

Most current Healthcare.gov enrollees have lower incomes:

About 66% of have incomes at or below 250% of poverty (approximately $31,250 for a single individual in 2020), with the bulk (44% of all enrollees) having incomes at or below 150% of poverty (approximately $18,750 in 2020).

About 36% of enrollees are under age 35, 37% are age 35 to 54, and 27% are 55 or older.

Both the ACA and the American Health Care Act include tax credits in their approach. However, the law and the proposal calculate credit amounts differently: the ACA takes family income, local cost of insurance, and age into account, while the replacement proposal bases tax credits only on age, with a phase out for individuals with incomes above $75,000.

To see a county breakdown of the differences in tax credits under Affordable Care Act versus the American Health Care Act, visit this map by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

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