The GOP health bill, unveiled Tuesday, includes a $1,000 limit on private health insurance premiums, an expansion of Medicaid, and tax credits to help people pay for private health care coverage.
The GOP bill also aims to lower the cost of prescription drugs by $1.5 trillion over 10 years.
The bill is a long way from a vote and a potentially controversial move for a party that has often pushed back against critics who say the Affordable Care Act should be replaced with a plan that includes government-run health insurance.
But in the end, the bill would help the party’s most vulnerable senators, including Sens.
Marco Rubio and Susan Collins, win over centrist Republican voters who are fed up with the GOP’s current approach to the health care system.
The party will likely need to win over a majority of senators in order to move ahead with the bill.
Republicans have yet to reveal a plan for how they would pay for the health insurance, which is expected to cost more than $1 trillion over the next 10 years, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
The CBO estimated the GOP bill would cost an average of $1 for every American.
The $1 figure represents the average premium and tax credit under the bill and the price of a typical individual plan.
It would also include a “silver” or “gold” level of coverage.
A premium of $10,200 for a silver plan would be the equivalent of $8,500 for a Gold plan, and $20,400 for a Platinum plan, according the CBO.
“The most costly item” would be “the expansion of the federal Medicare program, including an increase in Medicare beneficiary eligibility age from 65 to 67,” according to a section of the bill outlining how the health plan would work.
The Republican bill also includes a provision that would “ensure that each individual has access to health insurance at the same level as other individuals in the individual market.”
In order to receive those benefits, a person would need to earn at least 250 percent of the poverty level, or about $26,400 a year, according a summary of the proposal provided by the White House.
Republicans will likely be looking for a way to get rid of a portion of the Affordable Health Care Act that requires insurance plans to cover essential health benefits like maternity care and prescription drugs.
Republicans had said they would not touch the ACA’s individual mandate, which requires insurers to cover all essential health care costs.
The ACA requires insurers with 50 or more enrollees to offer a minimum level of insurance coverage.
Premiums for the individual mandate coverage would increase under the GOP plan, the CBO said.
It’s unclear if a number of GOP senators are expected to oppose the GOP proposal.
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said in an interview with ABC News that he’s undecided.
“If I had to guess, I would say the Republicans don’t want to do anything that will hurt the ACA and their own constituents, which means they’re not going to do the right thing,” Johnson said.
The health care overhaul would have a wide range of benefits, but the plan would offer the biggest boost to people with pre-existing conditions, according, the White Senate.
The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service estimated the Republican bill would expand the number of people eligible for Medicare to 5.4 million by 2026, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to about 7.6 million.
The Senate is expected later this week to begin a markup on the GOP legislation, which has the backing of a majority in the Senate.
Republicans also plan to offer tax credits, which would be available to individuals, families and small businesses who purchase coverage on the individual or small group market.
The credits would be $1 per $1 of health insurance premium for individuals, and up to $3 per $3 for small businesses, according Politico.
The tax credits would cover a “deductible contribution” to a policy and an amount that varies depending on the policy.
Individuals could pay as little as $2 for a policy on the single-payer insurance option, $3.50 on a family plan, or $5 per person for a small business plan.
The cost of the credits would vary depending on how much money the policy would cost.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which released a report Tuesday predicting that premiums would increase by as much as 14 percent for individual and small business plans, predicted that the GOP-led plan would increase premiums by as little.
“Republicans are promising to make health insurance even more expensive by increasing deductibles, raising deductibles on people with high medical bills and forcing people to pay more for their coverage,” said Dan Gross, a senior adviser at the DCCC.
“And by adding $1 in taxes to every purchase, they’re making it even more unaffordable for middle-class families to get insurance.”
Republicans said they want to reduce the cost to the government of health care through taxes, and also to encourage private-sector investment in the health system
