• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

2

Uber CEO says rideshare 'freed up' his son from having to get a driver’s license—and he's one of many Gen Zers who aren’t willing to drive

3

Inside the 'stealth wealth' playbook: How Silicon Valley's elite buy multimillion-dollar mansions without leaving a paper trail

1

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

2

Uber CEO says rideshare 'freed up' his son from having to get a driver’s license—and he's one of many Gen Zers who aren’t willing to drive

3

Inside the 'stealth wealth' playbook: How Silicon Valley's elite buy multimillion-dollar mansions without leaving a paper trail
Health

Why Trumpcare’s Biggest Fans Are Going to Be Disappointed

By
Sy Mukherjee
Sy Mukherjee
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Sy Mukherjee
Sy Mukherjee
Down Arrow Button Icon
May 4, 2017, 5:12 PM ET
Video Poster

Rosy rhetoric about Trumpcare is sharply out of line with independent reports and expert analyses.

On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed the American Health Care Act (AHCA) with a 217-213 vote. In its current state, this legislation would gut the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA or Obamacare) central provisions if it ultimately becomes law. (No Democrats voted for the bill; 20 Republicans opposed it.)

That the bill passed after an initial failure in March is striking given the confluence of business and political albatrosses weighing it down—even with the benefit of a Republican-controlled Congress and a president who made Obamacare’s demise a central campaign promise. The AHCA is currently in its third iteration yet has drawn consistent opposition from some of the most powerful medical and patient advocacy trade groups, including the American Medical Association, the American Heart Association, hospital organizations, and even the AARP, who all say it would be devastating for patients.

Contact your reps – now! Tell them to vote NO on #ACA replacement. Millions would lose coverage if passed. https://t.co/rWMkdmS4oe #AHCA pic.twitter.com/j9ejFBuybb

— AMA (@AmerMedicalAssn) May 4, 2017

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO)—the official, non-partisan scorekeeper of how lawmakers’ proposals may affect the economy and everyday Americans—hasn’t yet had a chance to look over the final bill. Neither did many of the Congress members who voted for it. That’s truly remarkable (and potentially unprecedented) for a reform package that affects one-sixth of the U.S. economy and millions of citizens. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), who made Trumpcare passage a top priority, was once a fierce critic of this kind of mad-dash legislative process—one that denies lawmakers an independent, empirical analysis while making it easier to pressure members of Congress to give in to political momentum.

CBO’s earlier report suggested that Trumpcare would cost more than 20 million people their health coverage while significantly increasing premiums for the elderly, poor, and sick. Despite this, President Trump, Rep. Ryan, and other Obamacare opponents are making some lofty-but-dubious promises about the AHCA. For instance, Trump has insisted that Americans with pre-existing conditions will still be able to get affordable health insurance under the law. However, recent deals struck by the White House and conservative holdouts in Congress would give states the authority to nix those Obamacare protections and make it easier to charge sick Americans more for their care.

This doesn’t even take Trumpcare’s gutting of Medicaid into account; the legislation would not only jeopardize future coverage for millions of low-income Americans who have gained health insurance under Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion, but actually transform the public program for the poor in a way that critics like the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities say would put even more financial strains on its beneficiaries and block others out entirely.

Furthermore, a bombshell Wall Street Journal report from Thursday morning found that even employer-provided health insurance could be affected by Trumpcare because employers would potentially be able to nix ACA-mandated caps limiting how much their workers have to pay out-of-pocket for their care.

Click here to subscribe to Brainstorm Health Daily, our brand new newsletter about health innovations.

Yet the resounding message from the House GOP after its long-sought victory today is that the AHCA will improve “access” while lowering Obamacare’s unsustainable costs. Of course, “access” to health care doesn’t mean much if an insurance company can charge more if you’re sick or if you no longer have cheaper public alternatives available to you at all. A Consumer Reports analysis from this week found that the ACA actually helped chop the number of personal bankruptcies in half; deep cuts to the health care safety net would almost certainly undermine that trend.

The moderate House Republicans who originally opposed Trumpcare over these kinds of concerns ultimately flipped thanks to a new amendment providing an $8 billion fund for high-risk insurance pools that cover sicker, medically expensive Americans, figuring that would at the very least be enough political cover for skittish lawmakers. That assessment has held true in the House, but industry and independent analyses suggest this amount of funding would be completely inadequate to address the needs of millions of people with pre-existing conditions. It’s also still entirely possible, and perhaps even likely, that the current version of Trumpcare won’t pass muster with Senate moderates—especially once the CBO has a chance to complete an official analysis.

None of this is to suggest that some of Obamacare’s marketplaces don’t have potentially catastrophic problems like high costs and fleeing insurers. But lawmakers had far more independent information about what it might or might not do when they green lighted the last administration’s health care bill. That’s not the case here. And though optimistic talking points about how “terrific” something as complicated as major health care reform will be may make for good short-term politics, American patients will ultimately find out whether or not they’ve been sold a bill of goods.

About the Author
By Sy Mukherjee
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Health

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Health

r
HealthHealth
The quiet $8 billion crisis: long COVID costs keep rising as Washington looks away
By Bruce Y. Lee, Hannah Dimmick and The ConversationMay 24, 2026
17 hours ago
mental
Healthmental health
500,000 people were locked in state psychiatric hospitals. Their descendants can’t find out why
By Mike Stobbe, Nick Lichtenberg and The Associated PressMay 24, 2026
17 hours ago
Someone leafs through titles stacked in a library
AIResearch
AI hallucinations are infiltrating expert work—and entering the permanent body of knowledge
By Tristan BoveMay 24, 2026
23 hours ago
d
HealthHospitals
Meet the hospital dogs ‘making a real difference’ by getting sick kids to smile
By Laura Ungar and The Associated PressMay 23, 2026
2 days ago
Ashley Yetman
Commentarydisruption
Everyone is blaming AI for the death of ‘craft.’ Take a good look in the mirror
By Ashley YetmanMay 23, 2026
2 days ago
The health benefits of saunas: backed by research and experts 
HealthHealth
The health benefits of saunas: backed by research and experts 
By Katie MooreMay 22, 2026
3 days ago

Most Popular

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
Success
Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
By Preston ForeMay 21, 2026
4 days ago
Uber CEO says rideshare 'freed up' his son from having to get a driver’s license—and he's one of many Gen Zers who aren’t willing to drive
Lifestyle
Uber CEO says rideshare 'freed up' his son from having to get a driver’s license—and he's one of many Gen Zers who aren’t willing to drive
By Sasha RogelbergMay 24, 2026
20 hours ago
Inside the 'stealth wealth' playbook: How Silicon Valley's elite buy multimillion-dollar mansions without leaving a paper trail
Real Estate
Inside the 'stealth wealth' playbook: How Silicon Valley's elite buy multimillion-dollar mansions without leaving a paper trail
By Sydney LakeMay 24, 2026
21 hours ago
Indeed chief economist says we’re entering an era of ‘great mismatch’ thanks to a generational imbalance of workers
Success
Indeed chief economist says we’re entering an era of ‘great mismatch’ thanks to a generational imbalance of workers
By Emma BurleighMay 22, 2026
3 days ago
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
Workplace Culture
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
5 days ago
This 39-year-old quit his lineman job during the pandemic and built a $50 million company in his backyard
Success
This 39-year-old quit his lineman job during the pandemic and built a $50 million company in his backyard
By Nick LichtenbergMay 23, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.