GOP aims to end insurance mandate in Obamacare

A draft Republican bill replacing President Barack Obama‘s health insurance law would end its Medicaid expansion, scrap fines on people not buying insurance and eliminate taxes on the medical industry and higher earners.

Instead, it would create tax credits worth up to $4,000, allow bigger contributions to personal health savings accounts and impose a new levy on expensive health coverage some employees get at work.

The 105-page measure largely tracks talking points that House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., unveiled last summer and a similar outline that GOP leaders recently gave lawmakers. The document is two weeks old, and GOP aides said it is subject to change.

Still, it provides some new details of Republican thinking and reaffirms others, such as blocking federal payments to Planned Parenthood for a year.

It also shows Republicans have begun translating their ideas into legislative language, even as they continue their seven-year struggle to unify their party behind a bill repealing Obama’s 2010 signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act.

Though just a preliminary document, the package drew quick criticism from Democrats.

Read the full story at US News & World Report: GOP Proposal Aims to End Insurance Mandate in ‘Obamacare’ | Political News | US News