CNN News:美共和党发布医保替代法案 废除奥巴马医改政策
Leading off today's news coverage on cnn 10, we're explaining a proposal to overhaul the U.S. health care system. Republicans in the House of Representatives have revealed their plan to repeal and replace the Affordability Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
Former President Barack Obama signed it into law in 2010. It was considered his biggest domestic achievement. It's also controversial. On the plus side, it helped 20 million Americans gained health insurance coverage, contributing to more people having it than ever before. On the minus side, it costs more than the government expected and several insurance companies that initially carried it have dropped Obamacare coverage.
Congressional Republicans have been trying to repeal the law for years. Now, with their party in charge of Congress and the White House, they've released a proposal called the American Healthcare Act. The bill would eliminate the Obamacare requirement that Americans either get health insurance or pay a fine of at least several hundred dollars for not having it. It would maintain some of the popular parts of Obamacare. It would get rid of the government payments that helped people buy health insurance and replace those with the tax credit and it would eventually restructure Medicaid, a federal and state program that gives insurance to low income Americans.
Just as Obamacare is controversial, the American Care Act is too. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan says Obamacare is collapsing and that the new law would reduce costs and give every American access to good, affordable health insurance.
Independent Senator Bernie Sanders has said having access doesn't mean people can afford it. Some Republican critics say the plan doesn't go far enough to eliminate Obamacare, and Democrats and some health insurance experts say the changes could put tens of millions of Americans at risk for losing their health insurance coverage, though Republicans say those who are currently enrolled would be grandfathered in so they don't.
The Trump administration calls the plan a work in progress. The bill will be debated and revised in the days ahead, as its Republican supporters try to push it through the House and Senate and on to President Trump's desk.