//GOP’s Healthcare Bill Will Cost Older People More

GOP’s Healthcare Bill Will Cost Older People More

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According to recent reports from AARP and CNBC Monday, older Americans are getting unfairly targeted in the GOP’s healthcare bill.

The bill allows insurers to charge older adults up to five times more than younger people. Comparably, Obamacare, capped rates at three times higher.

“Right now healthcare is barely affordable for those people who are over age 50. Raising it any more is just what we call an ‘age tax’ and would just make it unaffordable for them,” David Certner, legislative counsel and legislative policy director for government affairs at AARP, said in an interview with “Power Lunch.”

Some disagree, including director of economic studies at the Cato Institute’s Jeff Miron, who is also legislative policy director for government affairs at Harvard. He believes it is the “right policy” to make the system work “efficiently,” by letting insurance premiums reflect the riskiness of people who are being insured across different ages of possibly other groups is entirely “rational.”

Senate Republicans released their bill, called the “Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017” last week, CNBC reported, and on Monday, they released changes to the legislation, including a six-month waiting period for people who have let their insurance coverage lapse for more than 63 days.

The bill would require less to be deducted from younger people’s income to pay for their health plans compared to what they are currently paying, but older people will be paying a larger share of their income.