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Away From the Game: Seattle Seahawks guard and GAR grad Mark Glowinski

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WVC Girls Basketball All-Stars selected

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) &#8212; Top House Republicans say their outline for replacing President Barack Obama&#8217;s health care law is a pathway to greater flexibility and lower costs for consumers. Democrats see a road to ruin for millions who&#8217;d face lost coverage and higher medical expenses, particularly the poor.</p><p>The plan &#8220;ensures more choices, lower costs and greater control over your health care,&#8221; according to talking points GOP leaders handed lawmakers heading home to face constituents during this week&#8217;s recess.</p><p>Democrats say the proposal would threaten the coverage 20 million Americans gained under Obama&#8217;s 2010 overhaul. &#8220;It&#8217;s like rationing&#8221; health care, said Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, the House Energy and Commerce Committee&#8217;s top Democrat.</p><p>The GOP package lacks details, which are a work in progress, and has no estimates of cost or the number of people it would serve. It&#8217;s also uncertain if enough Republicans would support it &#8212; a hurdle that&#8217;s flummoxed leaders over seven years of trying to dismantle Obama&#8217;s law.</p><p>The plan&#8217;s highlights and each side&#8217;s views:</p><p>___</p><p>MEDICAID: Serves 77 million people, mostly the poor and those with nursing home costs. Benefits go to anyone who qualifies.</p><p>GOP lawmakers want states to receive fixed federal sums per beneficiary. These would likely be less generous than today&#8217;s payments, which generally cover costs automatically. They&#8217;d give more power to states to decide who and which services are covered, and phase out Obama&#8217;s expansion for additional lower-earning people that 31 states accepted.</p><p>Republicans: The program, which they have long advocated cutting, is unsustainable. Its costs are projected to grow from $390 billion this year to nearly $500 billion in 2022. It&#8217;s swamping states, devouring an average one-fifth of their budgets. States should have more freedom to shape programs.</p><p>Democrats: The GOP will cut Medicaid&#8217;s budget and cash-strapped states can&#8217;t make up the difference. That means fewer recipients with higher out-of-pocket costs, dwindling menus of services covered and lower payments to providers.</p><p>___</p><p>INDIVIDUAL MANDATE: If people don&#8217;t get policies at work or from government programs like Medicare or veterans&#8217; coverage, Obama&#8217;s law requires them to buy it privately or pay tax penalties. Millions purchase insurance on online exchanges the statute established, and nearly 9 in 10 get federal subsidies.</p><p>The GOP would erase the penalty and phase out subsidies, replacing them with a tax credit for everyone not insured on the job or by government programs. The amount is undecided, but it would be larger for older people and not vary by people&#8217;s income. It would cover dependent children up to age 26 and be paid monthly. If one&#8217;s tax liability is smaller than the credit, the IRS would refund the difference with a check.</p><p>Republicans: Unlike Obama&#8217;s subsidies for use on exchanges, the GOP tax credit lets people spend it for any state-approved policies. Adjusting the credit for income like Obama&#8217;s subsidies, which are higher for the poor, creates disincentives for work. Consumers would curb medical expenses because they could deposit leftover funds into health savings accounts.</p><p>Democrats: A boon to better-off people at the expense of poorer consumers, who today get bigger subsidies than those in higher income brackets. Unlike Obama&#8217;s subsidies, the GOP credit is not adjusted for local health care costs.</p><p>___</p><p>HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS: People can already contribute money to these tax-favored funds if they also have health insurance with high annual deductibles. Once the deductible is met, money in the funds can be tapped to pay medical bills. This year&#8217;s contributions are capped at $6,750 for families.</p><p>Republicans would increase contribution limits, perhaps letting them nearly double. Money could be spent for over-the-counter products.</p><p>Republicans: Creates incentives for people to shop for medical care and curb spending, which helps control costs.</p><p>Democrats: A gift to the rich. Useless for low- and middle-income families already having trouble saving money. Their savings would pale compared to potential bills for serious health problems.</p><p>___</p><p>HIGH-RISK POOLS: More than 30 states tried these government-subsidized funds for people whose pre-existing medical conditions made them costly to insure. They had a problematic history, often losing money and with coverage limits and long waits.</p><p>The GOP would create federal grants states could use to help finance pools or any effort to stabilize their insurance markets, like helping people pay premiums.</p><p>Republicans: An innovative way to let states design programs to help &#8220;their most vulnerable patients,&#8221; the talking points say.</p><p>Democrats: Historically, the pools get less government money than needed to function well. No substitute for Obama&#8217;s mandated individual coverage, fines and subsidies.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. arrives with Health and Human Services Secretary-designate, Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga. on Capitol Hill in Washington, for a closed-door GOP strategy session Jan. 31. Top House Republicans say their outline for replacing President Barack Obama&#8217;s health care law is a pathway to greater flexibility and lower costs for consumers. Democrats see it as a road to ruin that will mean lost coverage and bigger medical expenses for millions, particularly poorer people. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_115135245-cdea68c6fc454ee5924139cd2e93657d.jpg</photo0><caption0>House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. arrives with Health and Human Services Secretary-designate, Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga. on Capitol Hill in Washington, for a closed-door GOP strategy session Jan. 31. Top House Republicans say their outline for replacing President Barack Obama&#8217;s health care law is a pathway to greater flexibility and lower costs for consumers. Democrats see it as a road to ruin that will mean lost coverage and bigger medical expenses for millions, particularly poorer people. </caption0><photoCredit0>J. Scott Applewhite | (AP Phot </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Alan Fram</p><p>Associated Press</p></bylineMeta></div>

House GOP hails health plan that Democrats call inadequate