Report highlights local impact of healthcare repeal

A report released by Democratic congresswoman Suzan DelBene on March 3 reveals that 421,100 individuals in congressional district 1 are on track to lose preventative health insurance coverage if the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, is repealed.

The report was released just days before the U.S. House of Representatives rolled out a plan to repeal the ACA on March 6. In part, the proposed plan establishes a tax credit to encourage individuals to purchase private insurance and eliminates the previous mandate under the existing healthcare law.

“Instead of building upon the reforms we’ve already made to expand coverage and reduce costs, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have put forward a bill that would raise out-of-pocket costs for middle-class families, gut benefits for seniors, allow insurance companies to discriminate against women and cut funding for Medicaid by more than $500 billion,” DelBene said in a statement released on March 6.

DelBene will join other members of the House Ways and Means Committee to review and suggest changes to the bill.

The report released last week reveals that the rate of uninsured individuals in congressional district 1 dropped from 11.1 to 5.1 percent since the ACA was implemented. According to the report, a total 17,700 people in the district have purchased insurance through Washington Healthplanfinder, while another 36,500 receive coverage through Apple Health out of the Medicaid expansion.

To read the full report, visit http://bit.ly/2mH10wx.