This is me, and this is my sister, Annie
she’s 28, mom to two cats, freelance designer
and part-time grad student
There’s just something about freelancing.
I feel a lot of creative freedom
She’s also had had chronic back pain, neck pain, migraines for as long as she can remember
She health insurance through Obamacare, and without
it, there’s no way she’d be able to afford all her doctors’ appointments and medications
And because she doesn’t have to depend on an employer for insurance, she’s able to
work for herself
the flexibility works really well with being able to make
my appointments around my work schedule
on election night, my first thought was,
"what does this mean for my sister?"
Donald Trump, elected president of the United States
and for the 22 million other people who get their health insurance through Obamacare
“Today, after over a year of debate,
health insurance reform becomes law in the United States of America”
“We’re gonna try and repeal this”
“There’s only one way to fix Obamacare,
and that’s a full repeal”
“Can we replace this law, completely,
in the next presidency, in the next congress.
That is our goal, and the answer is yes we can.”
"When we win on November 8, we will be able to
immediately repeal and replace Obamacare”
Obamacare is a big law, with lots of different parts
And there are some parts that Trump and Republicans in Congress say they want to keep.
For example: before Obamacare, companies could refuse to sell insurance to people
with lots of health problems.
Obamacare says they can’t do that anymore, and Trump and the Republicans say they want
to keep it that way.
The problem is, this piece of the law that they like
only works because of another piece of the law that they don’t like...a piece they’ve
promised to get rid of
That’s the part of the law that says you have to have health insurance, or pay a fine.
For health insurance to be affordable, you need a lot of healthy people to sign up for
every one sick person That’s because health insurance is worth
more to sick people, and they’ll pay more for it, which pushes up premiums for everyone.
The healthy people in the pool help keep those costs down.
If Trump and the Republicans get rid of the individual mandate, which they say they will,
a bunch of healthy people
are going to stop buying insurance, premiums go up, more healthy people leave
Until all that’s left are sick people who are really expensive to cover.
Without a bunch of healthy people to offset that cost, insurance companies would pull
out of the marketplace
we know this because in some places,
it was already happening before the election.
Too many healthy people were choosing the fine over health insurance
As a result, states like Alabama and Oklahoma only have one insurance plan
on the market--and without competition, premiums shot up last year.
If Trump and the Republicans get rid of the individual mandate, we’ll likely see this
happen in other states.
Like Texas, where my sister lives
So, what might her life look like under the
Republican replacement for Obamacare?
Right now, Obamacare makes it illegal for insurance companies to charge her more just
because she has health problems. Under Paul Ryan’s plan, that changes.
Insurance companies would be allowed to charge her more if she ever let her coverage lapse.
Instead of forcing insurance companies to offer affordable plans to people like my sister,
Paul Ryan’s plan would fund “high-risk pools,” insurance plans specifically for
people with lots of health problems, but we don’t know exactly who would be eligible
for them.
These pools were around before Obamacare-- and
without healthy people to balance the sick people, these plans end up being about twice
as expensive for participants.
Paul Ryan’s plan does call for refundable tax credits to help offset those costs.
Congressional Republicans have tried getting rid of the individual mandate before.
But those votes were largely symbolic But it’s real now.
My sister has built a life for herself where she can take professional risks
go back to school , be her own boss, and not
have to rely on an employer for health insurance.
Now, she and 22 million others are asking how long that will last.