STAT+: ACA reforms in the GOP’s tax bill were little-noticed. That might change
Little noticed, the ACA reforms in the tax bill could lower enrollment about as much as Medicaid cuts will, and in many of the same states Trump won.
Enrollment in Affordable Care Act marketplace health plans has more than doubled since 2020, and most of that growth has been in states won by President Trump. House Republicans’ legislative agenda could cut that by one-third and make the insurance more expensive.
Most of the attention on Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill in health care circles has been on projected enrollment losses in Medicaid, which provides coverage to nearly 80 million compared to about 24 million people with private Obamacare insurance.
Medicaid also is getting more attention because of the increasing number of Republican voters in the program, which was once associated with low-income people who primarily voted for Democrats, if they voted at all.
