Today the US House is expected to vote on a bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with a plan that estimates show will cause 24 million Americans to lose health coverage, increase health care costs on older Americans, and raise premiums to the point that many Americans will be priced out of health insurance altogether. Texans will be harmed badly, with an estimated 500,000 Texans set to lose their coverage under the Trump/Republican plan according to the Houston Chronicle. But, don’t expect Republicans in Congress to put up a fight. Nearly every member of the Republican Texas congressional delegation is expected to roll over for Trump and vote for his plan to strip health coverage away from half-a-million Texans by 2020. The damage Trump and Republicans in Congress are inflicting on Texans goes far beyond healthcare coverage. The newly proposed Trump budget “hits Texas especially hard” by gutting everything from economic development programs to jobs to Meals on Wheels. Texas job growth has already slowed under Greg Abbott, and 100,000 Texans are served daily as part of the Meals on Wheels program. Coverage losses, rising prices, and hits to the elderly By conservative estimates, healthcare experts forecast that over half-a-million Texans will lose coverage by 2020 under Republican TrumpCare. And healthcare costs for other Texans will skyrocket. According to the Center for American Progress, the average Texas family will pay an additional $7,000 annually in health care costs under the Republican health care bill. Small cities and rural communities may be harmed most. According to Wallet Hub, both Wichita Falls and San Angelo will be two of the hardest hit cities in the country, with residents losing thousands of dollars in subsidies while being forced to commit even more of their income to pay for health care. |
|
|