10 WAYS ACA OPPONENTS MIGHT WANT TO WEAKEN THE LAW

TOTAL REPEAL OF THE ACA OR

OF THE INDIVIDUAL MANDATE

Although repeal likely wont pass the Senate and President

Obama will veto it if it does, such votes will be staged
in 2015 for show. Another possibility is removing the
requirement that everyone carry health coverage, which
is necessary to keep insurance costs down.

CHANGE THE DEFINITION OF A

FULL TIME WORKER

Requiring employers of a certain size to offer health

insurance to those who work at least 30 hours (the
employer mandate) is an important step to expand
health coverage for working people. Raising the number
of hours to 40 will lower the number of employees who
are protected.

REPEAL THE MEDICAL

DEVICE TAX

This 2.3% sales tax on medical devices applies to everything

from surgical gloves to defibrillators. Repeal would result
in $29 billion less in federal revenue over 10 years to fund
the ACAs coverage expansions. This is one of the most
profitable sectors of the health care industry.

LOWER SUBSIDIES FOR

HEALTH COVERAGE

Many consumers already have problems affording health

insurance premiums. Any significant cuts to premium
tax credits and cost-sharing reductions will cause many
consumers to either drop their coverage or not use it
when theyre sick.

ADD A NEW COPPER PLAN

Coverage offered on the new ACA marketplaces is

divided into four metal tiers that have different levels of
premiums and cost-sharing levels: platinum plans (paying
on average 90% of medical expenses), gold (80%), silver
(70%) and bronze (60%). Creating new copper plans (only
50%) will expose consumers to thousands of dollars of
out-of-pocket costs if they get sick or injured.
CITIZEN ACTION OF NEW YORK

MAKE CHANGES TO MEDICARE

AND MEDICAID

Some ideas include privatizing Medicare, raising the

eligibility age to 67, raising premiums and co-pays for
middle-income beneficiaries and taxing top-level Medicare
supplemental plans. As for Medicaid, some have proposed
to block-grant or cap Medicaid funding to states, leaving
them holding the bag.

RESTRICT IMMIGRANTS
ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE

Congress is considering legislation to overturn President

Obamas recent executive action allowing certain immigrants
to stay in the U.S. without fear of deportation. A major positive
effect of the Obama action is additional New Yorkers are now
considered legal residents and eligible for Medicaid. Republican
members of the State Legislature may try to capitalize on the
controversy by limiting Medicaid funding.

CHIP FUNDING WILL EXPIRE

IN 2015 IF NOT EXTENDED

Congress must continue to fund the Childrens Health

Insurance Program called Child Health Plus in New York
beyond September 30, when funding runs out. Without it,
over 500,000 New York children under the age of 19 would
lose access to affordable insurance coverage.

CUT OR END FUNDING FOR

CERTAIN ACA PROGRAMS

Republicans
go afterNYthe
funding of certain ACA
94 CENTRALmight
AVE, ALBANY,
12210
programs. One possibility is the ACA Prevention and Public
Health Fund, which supports programs like community and
clinical prevention, immunizations and health screenings.

PROPOSE REPUBLICAN
ALTERNATIVES TO THE ACA

10

Some Republicans have made proposals that pretend to

advance the broad goals of the ACA: they say they want
repeal and replace the law. Examples are: allowing
people to purchase junk insurance across state lines,
offering health savings accounts with high deductibles
and limiting medical malpractice awards. These proposals
dont address the concerns that led to passage of the law.

94 CENTRAL AVE, ALBANY, NY 12210

(518)465-4600

A NEW REPUBLICAN MAJORITY IS DETERMINED TO TAKE AWAY

YOUR RIGHT TO HEALTH CARE....WEVE GOT TO FIGHT BACK!
Since the Affordable Care Act passed in
2010, the House of Representatives has
voted over 50 times to repeal the law.

Weve made it pretty

clear and Ill make it
clear one more time: If
the court does not strike
down the entire law, the
House will move to
repeal whats left of it.
House Speaker
John Boehner

THE ACA IN NEW YORK

More than 2 million New Yorkers have enrolled
in health coverage through our state insurance
marketplace. 89% of them were previously
uninsured.
Health premiums have gone down for
individuals by more than 50%.

If I had the ability,

Id get rid of it.
Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell

Millions of New Yorkers now receive preventive

services for free, including well-baby visits and
reproductive health care.
Lifetime and annual limits are now banned.

THEY WONT BE SUCCESSFUL IN REPEALING THE ACA,

BUT THEY MAY BE ABLE TO WEAKEN THE LAW.

TAKE ACTION!
Arrange to speak about the ACA to community groups, religious
organizations and unions to set the record straight.
Join our Rapid Response Campaign: We regularly screen newspapers
and the web for attacks on the ACA by New York elected officials and
commentators. We will work with you to develop appropriate responses,
like letters to the editor, social media messages and speaking out at town
hall meetings and other public events.
Meet with, call or email your member of Congress, or contact your
representative through social media. The phone number of the
Congressional switchboard is (202)-224-3121.
To get involved in Citizen Actions 2015 ACA Defense Campaign, contact Bob Cohen
at bcohen@citizenactionny.org or Mary Clark at cabing@citizenactionny.org.