New Analysis: 3 Million Children Would Lose Coverage Under AHCA

By Quinn Libson,
Staff Correspondent

Connecting state and local government leaders

| June 15, 2017

The Republican replacement for the Affordable Care Act could increase the number of uninsured kids by as much as 50 percent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate might vote on the American Health Care Act as early as July 4, according to some reports. Yet, the draft text of that legislation—which may have changed considerably since the bill passed through the House of Representatives in early May—has not been made public.

There may be a good reason Senate Republicans are keeping their cards close to the vest—besides the fact that the bill has the potential to be the most unpopular piece of legislation in decades, and polling suggests that there isn’t a single state that favors the plan.

According to new analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the 23 million people that would lose their coverage under the GOP repeal-and-replace plan includes as many as 3 million children. Those kids would lose coverage mainly as a result of the per capita cap-based reforms to federal Medicaid funding, and the cuts to tax credits that help moderate-income families afford health coverage.

In total, the CBPP found that the AHCA has the potential to increase the uninsured rate for children by about 50 percent.

But, children aren’t the only segment of the population that would be impacted by this bill. As many as one in ten non-elderly people who would otherwise have health coverage under Obamacare would lose it as a result of the AHCA—for young adults (age 19-29) that figure is as high as one in eight. And, older adults would see their uninsurance rates more than double, the largest percentage increase in uninsurance for any age group.

Read the full analysis from the CBPP to learn more.

Quinn Libson is a Staff Correspondent for Government Executive’s Route Fifty based in Washington, D.C.

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