page_title: 2017 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act replacement proposals
section_title: American Health Care Act
hierarchical_section_title: 2017 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act replacement proposals / Plans / House legislation / American Health Care Act
caption_attribution_description: English: Reduction to health insurance coverage due to the AHCA.
context_page_description: The following is a list of plans being considered to replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as a result of the Republican Party's gains in the 2016 US elections. "Repeal and replace" has been a Republican slogan since March 2010 when Obamacare was signed into law and has been adopted by President Donald Trump.
context_section_description: A comprehensive plan to replace the Affordable Care Act was announced by the House Republican leadership on March 6, 2017. It retains many features of the Affordable Care Act, but replaces ACT's system of subsidies with tax credits and federally-funded Medicaid coverage with a system of block grants to states based on the nature and number of recipients served. Conservative critics such as Rand Paul characterized the plan as "Obamacare Light" and continued to advocate total repeal, while other Republicans such as Cory Gardner from states which had accepted Medicaid expansion expressed worry about whether the new plan would adequately fund services for Medicaid patients.
  The United States House Committee on Ways and Means approved one portion of the bill on March 9, 2017 after an all-night session. The second portion of the bill was also approved March 9 by the United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce on a party-line vote. On March 13 the Congressional Budget Office released its evaluation of the proposal. It projected a rise in uninsured by 24 million by 2028, but savings of $337 billion over ten years. In 2018, most of the reduction would be caused by the elimination of the penalties for the individual mandate, both directly and indirectly. Later reductions would be due to reductions in Medicaid enrollment, elimination of the individual mandate penalty, subsidy reduction, and higher costs for some persons. By 2016 the CBO estimates that the average amount paid for medical insurance would decrease by about 10%. That results from increased prices for older patients and reduced credits which is predicted to increase the proportion of younger people in the pool and reduce the proportion of older people. The bill was approved by the House Budget Committee 19 to 17 on March 16, 2017. Three members of the Freedom Caucus, Dave Brat (Va.), Mark Sanford (S.C.) and Gary Palmer (Ala.) voted against it. It went next to the House Rules Committee, then to the full House. The bill, once it passed the House, would go to the Senate under budget reconciliation rules. Thus, only material which affects the budget can be included and only a simple majority vote will be required in the Senate.
  Despite his vow not to get involved into day-to-day politics former President Obama became a part of the discussion on March 23, 2017 (the seventh anniversary of ACA and one day prior to the vote on the American Health Care Act) by hailing among other things 20 million more people insured, preexisting conditions covered, young people staying on their parents' plans until 26, lowered costs for women's health care and free preventive care as progress due the Affordable Care Act. On March 24, 2017, the Bill was withdrawn by Speaker Paul Ryan (with the endorsement of President Donald Trump) after failing to gain enough support in the House of Representatives. 
  On May 4, 2017, the United States House of Representatives voted in favor of repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and passing the American Health Care Act with a narrow vote of 217 to 213, sending the bill to the Senate for deliberation. The Senate has indicated they will write their own version of the bill, instead of voting on the House version.
caption: CBO estimated in May 2017 that the Republican AHCA would reduce the number of persons with health insurance by 23 million during 2026, relative to current law.[17]
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