This week, the GOP released their version of the replace part of replace-and-repeal of the ACA. “Trumpcare” has received a lot of criticism, though some say it only differs from Obamacare in a few, but very key, ways. The LA times has a great side-by-side breakdown of the changes the bill would enact. Here’s a list of reactions and analyses from the past week.

1. To recap, here’s a list of some primary changes:
   • Remove the tax on high-income earners
   • Reverse the Medicaid expansion of the ACA
   • Move from subsidies to tax credits
   • Remove the mandate that everyone purchase insurance
   • Remove the requirement that employers offer coverage for full-time employees
   • Remove requirements for mental health benefits
   • Defund Planned Parenthood
2. We don’t have a CBO analysis of new the bill yet, and that tends to be the most accurate analysis.
3. Democrats want to delay any vote on the healthcare proposal until the CBO has completed their analysis. Republicans don’t want to wait.
   
4. According to the latest CBO analysis, Obamacare is costing a third less than expected (due to lower enrollment and 19 states not expanding Medicaid).
5. UPDATE: The CBO issues a report saying that 24 million would lose insurance under the GOP plan, but the federal deficit would be reduced by $337 billion over the next decade.
6. Republican legislators begin undermining the CBO before they even get a chance to score the healthcare bill.
7. Here’s what Trump says about the new plan: “This will be a plan where you can choose your doctor. This will be a plan where you can choose your plan. And you know what the plan is — this is the plan. And we’re going to have a tremendous — I think we’re going to have a tremendous success. It’s a complicated process, but actually it’s very simple. It’s called good healthcare.”
8. The bill removes the ACA mandate for covering addiction treatment. This reneges on Trump’s promise to bring an end to the opioid abuse epidemic, unless he comes up with a new plan for treatment. Deaths from opioid overdoses have been skyrocketing.
9. The cuts to Medicaid will eliminate the current requirement that it cover mental health services, leaving it up to the states to decide whether to include coverage.
10. The White House pushes for an end to the ACA Medicaid expansion earlier than the bill currently states (2020). This reneges on Trump’s promise to leave Medicaid alone.
11. The healthcare bill would accelerate the depletion of the Medicare fund.
12. The AMA, AARP, and American Hospital Association, among others, come out in opposition to the new healthcare bill.
13. The new bill proposes removing all taxes implemented in the ACA, which would cut taxes for people with incomes of $1 million or more by around $144 billion over the next decade.  For those making $200,000 or more, that tax cuts would total around $274 billion.
    
14. The tax break for insurance companies could save them more than $500 million over the next 10 years due to a new tax break around executive compensation.
15. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the new bill would hurt people living in rural areas and people with lower incomes. Their estimates also say that a 60-year-old making $30K would receive a $4K tax credit under the new plan, or about $8K less than under the ACA.
16. According to the AARP, a 64-year-old making $15K would pay $8,500 more under the new plan.
17. Experts question why the subsidies aren’t based on means instead of age. Even though health costs are higher for older citizens, that doesn’t mean that someone making $30,000 a year has the same means to pay for healthcare as someone making $150,000 a year. Or $500,000 a year, for that matter.
18. Public health advocates fear the bill will reduce CDC funding by $1 billion for preventing things like disease outbreaks and lead poisoning.
19. Anthem comes out in favor of passing the new healthcare law as soon as possible in order to stabilize insurance markets (they don’t like the uncertainty of not knowing what changes will be made).
20. America’s Health Insurance Plans and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, while seeing a few positives in the new bill, say the tax credits need to be more robust and fear the cap on Medicaid will lead to loss of coverage.
21. One thing the GOP has been really pushing for is the ability to sell insurance across state lines. This would come in a different phase of healthcare reform. However, this is actually already legal and enabled by the ACA, which is something I can only assume Republicans are aware of already. That insurance companies aren’t taking advantage of this yet indicates a lack of interest to create the required networks for this.
22. Obviously, there is strong Democratic backlash against the bill, and many individuals are now wondering if they will lose their healthcare.
23. There is conservative backlash against the bill as well. Some call it nothing more than Obamacare Lite, some fiscal conservatives are worried that it will increase the deficit, and some want to keep the Medicaid expansion and Planned Parenthood funding.
24. At the outset, four Republican senators say they won’t approve the bill in its current form because their constituents would be adversely affected. Rob Portman, Shelley Moore Capito, Cory Gardner, and Lisa Murkowski all say they will vote against any ACA replacement that doesn’t include protections for their constituents.
25. In response to the backlash, Paul Ryan and Donald Trump say Republicans need to get in line behind the bill or risk being the ones who are blamed for breaking the GOP promise to repeal and replace.
26. In addition to the above, at an Oval Office meeting, Trump says if the plan doesn’t pass, he’ll allow the ACA to fail and let Democrats take the blame (according to what sources at the meeting told CNN).
27. Tom Price says that no one will be hurt by Trumpcare (financially or health-wise) and that even more people will be insured, though this conflicts with most analyses so far.
28. The House Ways and Means Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee approve the new healthcare measure, so it is moving full-steam ahead.
    

And finally, here are a few of the worst comments of the week about healthcare reform:

1. Congressman Ron DeSantis (R.-FL): Cancer patients can go to the ER for treatment.
2. Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R.-UT): Low-income Americans should prioritize health insurance over purchasing iPhones.
   Even though the value of an iPhone won’t even cover one month of insurance, right? In fairness, Obama did say a few years ago that people making $40-50K could prioritize their budgets to better afford healthcare, but Chaffetz could’ve worded that better.
3. Congressman John Shimkus (R-Ill.): Why should men pay for prenatal care?
   He’s obviously not understanding that the insurance is basically a risk pool, where everyone pays in so that everyone can be covered for their specific needs. He’s also possibly not understanding that women don’t get pregnant by themselves.
4. Paul Ryan: If people lose their healthcare with the new bill, it’ll be because they didn’t want it.
   This completely ignores the fact that some people will just be unable to afford it.