Grading The AHCA As The House Sets Up A Vote

Published March 23, 2017 at 9:00 AM CDT

President Donald Trump, with Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, arrives at the Capitol to rally support for the Republican health care overhaul by taking his case directly to GOP lawmakers.(AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

As the House votes on the American Health Care Act we’ll dig deep into what’s in the bill, what’s not. Who would win. Who would lose.

It’s an “everything on the line” day in Washington for Republicans and American health care. All week long, a scramble to the vote, promised by the GOP for years, to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act – Obamacare. On the very eve of the vote, House Republicans did not have the votes – their own votes – to do it. The home stretch today, a wild scramble. The horse-trading and trade-offs, hugely consequential for the American people. This hour On Point, the House and your health care. — Tom Ashbrook

Guests

Noam Levey, national health care correspondent for the Lost Angeles Times. ( @NoamLevey)

Mary Agnes Carey, partnerships editor and senior correspondent covering health care reform and federal health policy for Kaiser Health News. ( @maryagnescarey)

Dr. Leana Wen, Baltimore City Health Commissioner and emergency room physician. ( @DrLeanaWen)

From Tom’s Reading List

Los Angeles Times: The GOP drive to repeal Obamacare could snuff out a quiet revolution in how U.S. cities care for their poor — “Over the last four years, this city at the foot of the Rocky Mountains has quietly transformed how it cares for its poorest residents. As hundreds of thousands of Coloradans gained health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, known as or Obamacare, Denver built an extensive new system to keep patients healthy, hiring dozens of mental health specialists and nurses, expanding dental clinics and launching efforts to help patients manage debilitating illnesses, such as diabetes and heart disease.”

Kaiser Health News: House GOP Health Bill Jettisons Insurance Mandate, Much Of Medicaid Expansion — “The legislation would keep the health law’s provisions allowing adult children to stay on their parents’ health insurance plan until age 26 and prohibiting insurers from charging people with preexisting medical conditions more for coverage as long as they don’t let their insurance lapse. If they do, insurers can charge a flat 30 percent late-enrollment surcharge on top of the base premium, under the Republican bill.”

STAT: The ACA replacement would devastate America’s health — “As a physician who has treated patients in the emergency department before and after the Affordable Care Act was instituted, I have seen firsthand how it has transformed the lives of many of my patients. And as the health commissioner for Baltimore city, I have seen how it has safeguarded the lives of more than 40,000 residents in my city, and millions more around the country, who would otherwise be uninsured.”