Coverage: Roughly 21 million Americans are at serious risk of losing their health insurance if the A.C.A. is overturned. Millions of Americans have already lost their job-based health insurance during the current crisis, and many have relied on Obamacare as backup coverage. “It has been a huge safety net,” Abby told us. “The last thing you want is to get the coronavirus and then not have insurance pay for the really expensive medical care that comes along with it. And a lot of people are already facing that.” While there are temporary provisions to help Americans pay for medical expenses related to the coronavirus, the funding for these programs is finite.
Vaccines: The A.C.A. includes a mandate for insurers to cover preventive care, much of it for free, and that includes vaccines. When effective coronavirus vaccines arrive, we are assuming it will be free because of a provision in the A.C.A., Abby said.
Pre-existing conditions: Obamacare bars insurers from refusing to cover people with pre-existing health conditions. Contracting the coronavirus, which leaves many patients with lingering health problems, could make it difficult or impossible for people to get health insurance in the future if part or all of the A.C.A. is invalidated.
Hospitals: The A.C.A. has strengthened the financial health of many hospitals, in part by expanding Medicaid, which covers poor Americans. When Medicaid recipients make trips to the hospital, the hospitals are reimbursed for some of the cost, whereas in the past they might have received nothing.
Underlying health: Many studies have shown that Obamacare has generally helped with overall health outcomes. Guaranteeing preventive care could help ward off the chronic conditions like obesity and diabetes that increase the chances someone will become seriously ill from the virus.
This is what the Insurance Companies are paying the Republicans to eliminate.
