Reason Podcast

Why the GOP's "Repeal and Replace" Bill (AHCA) Is *Worse* than Obamacare [Reason Podcast]

It locks in many of the worst elements of Obamacare while making actual market-friendly reforms next-to-impossible.

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In a new Reason Podcast, Reason's Peter Suderman tells Nick Gillespie why The American Health Care Act (AHCA) not only fails to really "repeal and replace" Obamcare but actually makes the system even worse.

Indeed, the AHCA, which passed by four votes on a strictly party-line vote, locks in Obamacare's system of tax subsidies and while it ends the loathsome individual mandate, it effectively replaces it with an equally ineffective and distortive penalty for failing to maintain constant coverage. The AHCA is also a disaster in terms of process: The GOP House majority rushed it through without waiting for the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to score its costs and benefits. Taking a page from former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Paul Ryan forced a vote despite a number of members saying they had not had time to read the lengthy legislation.

Suderman also explains the steps that need to be taken in order to start building a truly market-oriented health-care and medical-insurance system.

Produced by Ian Keyser.

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