AARP warns Trumpcare cuts will hit Florida hardest
Calling Florida “ground zero” for the impact of the GOP’s proposed health care plan, the AARP warned Thursday that more than 450,000 of the state’s residents age 50 to 64 would pay thousands of dollars more each year for coverage.
The nonpartisan advocacy organization also said Florida would be the nation’s hardest hit by the plan’s so-called “age tax” — which allows insurance companies to charge older policyholders up to five times as much as younger ones.
“Some of the changes for … people who are in their 50s or 60s and not old enough to be eligible for Medicare are pretty astounding,” said Jeff Johnson, AARP Florida’s state director. “These are folks who have kids in high school and college. These are folks who are probably in your place of work — if not you yourself. They’re the folks who are waiting tables or driving rideshare or doing whatever else they
have to to make a living.”
The AARP analysis adds to a growing chorus of critics of the proposed American Health Care Act — dubbed Trumpcare — now being considered by the U.S. House of Representatives. On Monday, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported that 24 million more Americans would be uninsured by 2026 under the Republican health care bill than under Obamacare, including 14 million by next year.
The proposal does have good news for younger and wealthier Americans, though. A report from the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation shows those groups would end up paying less for their coverage. And older Americans earning $75,000 or even $100,000 a year would still be eligible for tax credits to offset insurance premiums on individual policies.
But Americans with low and moderate incomes would pay significantly more, which includes a wide swath of Floridians. And because the plan would eliminate the Medicare payroll tax for high earners that was part of the Affordable Care Act, Johnson said, the new plan also reduces the solvency for the Medicare Part A trust fund by about four years.
The AARP cautioned that the plan could limit access to long-term care, including nursing homes, paid for under Medicaid. The House GOP bill proposes scrapping the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced federal funding for Medicaid expansion in 2020.
Yet it’s the “doublewhammy” of the loss in tax credits and higher insurance premiums that are the most immediate concerns, AARP leaders said.
Nationally, combining the “age tax” with the reduced flat tax credits would leave health insurance customers age 50 to 64 paying up to $8,400 a year in higher costs for the same coverage they have today, said Lina Walker, vice president for health security at the AARP Public Policy Institute.
“The effect would be particularly harmful to people who need access to quality, affordable health insurance — older Americans and those who have lower incomes,” Walker said.
And generally, those making the least would be impacted most. By 2026, for instance, a 64-year-old earning $26,500 a year would see premiums increase by $12,900.
The AARP also cautioned that older workers hoping to leave an employer’s coverage to launch their own small businesses might be afraid to do so if the plan is enacted.
Chris MacLellan, a 60-year-old Lake Worth resident who left a corporate job to launch his own consulting business in his late 50s, counts himself among the vulnerable.
“I’m going to have a difficult time being able to afford this,” he said. “And right now, I am dealing with atrial fibrillation and probably will need a pacemaker in five years. Where is all the money going to come from? I don’t know. It’s very scary.”
MacLellan, who is still building his new business, said he had no problems getting coverage through the Affordable Care Act — as well as assistance with premiums — despite widespread complaints that the coverage was too expensive.
Florida Republicans in Congress said they shared some of the AARP’s sentiments, even as they reiterated opposition to Obamacare.
“While I am strongly committed to repealing the failed Affordable Care Act and adopting real health care reform, I have concerns with both proposals,” said U.S. Rep. Dan Webster, RClermont. “For one, I am very concerned about the impact proposals will have on the demand for Medicaid beds in Florida nursing homes. This is critical to the access some of our senior population has to our hospitals and nursing homes.”