Three Ways Republicans Want To Replace Obamacare

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Congressional Republicans are finally starting to flesh out their plans to replace Obamacare.

House GOP members met Thursday to hear more from committee leaders about efforts to replace the massive health reform law. In a presentation, Representatives Greg Walden of Oregon and Kevin Brady of Texas explained how the party wants to overhaul America's health care system through the use of tax credits, health savings accounts and changes to Medicaid funding, among other measures.

Congress started the repeal process last month, but the momentum has stalled amid infighting over how to replace Obamacare. Congressional leaders and President Trump, however, have said recently they will be ready to act next month.

Republicans don't have the 60 votes in the Senate needed to enact broader changes to the law, including revising Obamacare's strict insurance rules which are critical to the GOP's promise to make health insurance more affordable. So they plan to repeal the mandates, penalties and taxes using the budget reconciliation process, which is limited to revenue and spending measures and requires only a simple majority to approve.

Still missing from the GOP plan, however, is how much money they are willing to spend on their replacement provisions and how they will pay for it, especially since their proposal calls for rescinding Obamacare's taxes on the wealthy, insurers and others. That's also key to knowing how much assistance to consumers and states it will provide.

Lawmakers said the Congressional Budget Office is still analyzing the plan.

Here's what the House wants to tackle first:

Provide tax credits to more people: The GOP wants to provide advanceable, refundable tax credits to help people afford coverage. These would replace Obamacare's subsidies, which are actually advance premium tax credits, though most people don't know that. Obamacare's credits are paid directly to insurers, and it's likely the Republican ones would be too.

But the two tax credits would differ in significant ways. Obamacare subsidies are based on income. The less you make, the more you get. But if you make above 400% of the poverty level -- $47,520 for an individual or $97,200 for a family of four -- you don't receive any assistance. This has led many middle class Americans to say Obamacare's premiums are unaffordable, especially after insurers hiked rates for 2017.

The Republican plan, however, would tie tax credits to a person's age so everyone would qualify, as long as they aren't eligible for coverage through an employer or the government. It would also be adjusted based on family size.

The GOP argues that this would be easier to administer and would also eliminate incentives for people to work less so they could remain eligible for subsidies.

The outline distributed to House members on Thursday and obtained by CNN, however, doesn't specify the size of the credits. Without that figure, it's hard to know how much it will help lower people's premiums. Previous Republican plans have offered credits of up to $3,000, but experts say this would not be enough to make coverage affordable for many people.

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