Careful on health care votes

As Kentucky’s congressional delegation considers legislation which would slash the expansion and subsidies to help the poor buy health insurance, they must note the Affordable Care Act’s impact here.

If Congress replaces the ACA with provisions in the first version of Trumpcare, more than 500,000 Kentuckians could lose insurance. More than 400,000 got coverage through the Medicaid expansion. The rest used subsidies to buy private insurance.

In Kentucky’s 6th District, a 60-year-old making $20,000 would see a subsidy cut of 39 percent to 52 percent under the GOP plan, with cuts near 70 percent elsewhere around the state.

Trumpcare supporters claim health savings accounts will allow people to save the money to pay for their insurance, but everyone knows people living at the margins don’t have the luxury to save much money for health care.

No one disputes that the ACA needs improvements, but it’s not necessary to throw the baby out with the bathwater. It’s ironic that the ACA was based on Republican principles proposed by the Heritage Foundation, but Republicans couldn’t support it when Democrats passed it.

Rep. Andy Barr and Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul should quit carrying President Donald Trump’s water and do what is best for their constituents’ health — or be held accountable at the polls.

This story was originally published April 19, 2017 at 8:14 PM with the headline "Careful on health care votes."