HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA)/POLITICS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The House Republican effort to overhaul the Affordable Care Act could hit many rural areas particularly hard, according to a new analysis, sharply increasing the cost for some residents buying their own insurance.
In extreme cases, the amount a consumer might owe for a plan could exceed that person’s annual income. In Nebraska’s Chase County, a 62-year-old currently earning about $18,000 a year could pay nearly $20,000 annually to get health-insurance coverage under the House GOP plan—compared with about $760 a year that person would owe toward premiums under the ACA, an analysis by Oliver Wyman showed…
Among people who currently have ACA benchmark plans, Oliver Wyman found those who are older and have lower incomes would generally see their costs for similar coverage increase the most under the House bill. Some with higher wages, and certain younger consumers, would likely do better financially under the new regime. Both urban and rural 35-year-olds making about $54,000 a year, for instance, could on average save roughly $3,000 annually, the analysis showed.”
-Anna Wilde Mathews and Dante Chinni, “GOP Health Plan Would Hit Rural Areas Hard,” The Wall Street Journal online, March 13, 2017