Trump is an excellent businessman and the Republicans are really good with money: if you doubt it, just take a gander at the Urban Institute's report on the costs and effects of Trumpcare: the US government will spend $33 billion more as a result of GOP policies, and cover 8.9 million fewer Americans, and those Americans will pay higher premiums (18%, on average!) to get worse care.
The worst off under this deal? Middle-class Americans with health problems.
We call it "The Aristocrats!"
Millions of others, including the U.S. taxpayer and families who need treatment and have incomes too high to be subsidized, are also screwed. That includes families with household incomes approaching or exceeding 400% of the federal poverty line: $48,560 for an individual and $100,400 for a family of four.
The damage estimate can't be restricted to the immediate impact on individuals and families, the researchers observed. "As healthier enrollees exit for short-term plans, insurers will by necessity reexamine the profitability of remaining in the compliant markets. This may well lead to more insurer exits from the compliant markets in the next years, reducing choice for the people remaining and ultimately making the markets difficult to maintain."
The stupidity of Trumpcare: Government will spend $33 billion more to cover 8.9 million fewer Americans, as premiums soar [Michael Hiltzik/LA Times]
(Image: Trump's Hair)
(via Naked Capitalism)
