About 720,000 Georgians Could Lose Coverage Under House Plan
Scott Applewhite / AP
An estimated 720,000 Georgians could lose health insurance over the next 10 years under the revised Republican health care proposal that passed the U.S. House this month, according to an analysis of the Congressional Budget Office report.
Bill Custer, a professor at Georgia State University, calculated the figures from the CBO report’s estimates. He said the CBO estimate is based on how states would react to the reduction in federal funding for Medicaid.
“What this bill does is really put pressure on the states to either find ways to finance the coverage now being offered, or reduce that coverage,” Custer said.
He the CBO numbers are based on the prediction that states would shrink Medicaid enrollment. He said in Georgia, about 400,000 people would lose coverage through Medicaid over a decade.
Custer also said older and rural Georgians who purchase insurance individually could see premiums rise.
The bill allow insurance companies to charge older Americans five times as much as younger Americans, as opposed to three times as much under the Affordable Care Act. People would be given tax subsidies for insurance also solely based on their age, instead of income and other factors, he said.
The bill is now being considered in the Senate, where it could see changes.
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