AHCA doesn’t add up

I read with interest U.S. Rep. Andy Barr’s May 31 commentary on the American Health Care Act. It is the sort of argument he should be (and for all I know may be) making to the public in his town hall events.

Of particular note are his reference to today’s unaffordable premiums and his observation that the AHCA “includes $138 billion to assist in providing coverage and lowering costs for patients.”

As I understand it, the $138 billion figure covers a ten-year period. Google tells me the corresponding figure for the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is $1.1 trillion, about eight times as much.

I would love to hear Barr explain how premiums can be unaffordable when the payer is receiving a dollar in subsidies, but affordable when the payer is only receiving 12.5 cents.

This story was originally published June 5, 2017 at 6:26 PM with the headline "AHCA doesn’t add up."