We Didnt Think The Tax Bill Could Get Any Worse. We Were Wrong.
As Congress rushes to make changes to their tax bill, it keeps getting worse and worse, posing an immediate threat to the Medicare program and health care coverage for 13 million Americans under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that the enormous cost of the tax bill would prompt immediate, automatic, and ongoing spending cuts to Medicare $25 billion in 2018 alone.
That is not the only worrisome news. After failing repeatedly to repeal the ACA, the Senate is now seeking to repeal the ACAs individual mandate to purchase insurance coverage in order to help pay for tax cuts. They know this will devastate the ACA and lead to 13 million more people without health coverage, according to the CBO, and increasing premiums that will disproportionately affect people over age 50 who are not yet eligible for Medicare.
These new dangers are on top of an already bad bill. Congress is engaged in a rushed effort to push through a massive tax cut for corporations and the wealthy, presenting a clear and present danger to health coverage, other vital programs, and families throughout the country. After adding $1.5 trillion to the federal debt, policymakers will use the higher debt created by the tax cuts to argue that deep cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and other bedrock programs are necessary.
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