Nobody Is Safe Under Trumpcare As Millions Of Americans Will Lose Employer-Based Coverage

The conventional wisdom is that Americans with employer-based health insurance will be shielded from the most disastrous consequences of Trumpcare – but that couldn’t be more wrong.

Of the 22 million Americans that will lose health insurance under the Republican health care plan – as the Congressional Budget Office revealed on Monday – millions of those individuals are currently on plans through their job.

According to the CBO, as many as 4 million Americans with employer-based insurance policies will lose their coverage under Trumpcare.

“Under current law, the prospect of paying the employer mandate penalty tips the scale for some businesses and causes them to decide to offer health insurance to their employees,” the CBO noted. “Thus, eliminating that penalty would cause some employers to not offer health insurance.”

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The CBO added: “Similarly, the demand for insurance among employees is greater under current law because some employees want employment-based coverage so that they can avoid paying the individual mandate penalty. Eliminating that penalty would reduce such demand and would cause some employers to not offer coverage or some employees to not enroll in coverage they were offered.”

As The Hill noted on Monday, even though the latest version of Trumpcare in the Senate would kick 22 million off their insurance instead of the 23 million in the House legislation, more Americans with employer-based coverage would lose it under the most recent bill.

“The CBO in May assessed that 2 million people would lose employer-provided coverage in 2018 under the House legislation,” the news organization noted, meaning that the Senate bill is twice as bad for Americans with job-based coverage as the House legislation was.

Meanwhile, many are under the false impression that this legislation will only hurt millions of low-income Americans who rely on Medicaid or people who have coverage through Affordable Care Act exchanges.

But today’s CBO score offered a harsh reality check: Nobody is safe under Trumpcare.

Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.