Wonkbook: How repealing Obamacare would punish the working class

By Max Ehrenfreund The number of people without health insurance could more than double under Republican plans to repeal President Obama's Affordable Care Act, reaching nearly 59 million — or more than one in four Americans, according to a new analysis published Wednesday. The figures illustrate the challenges for newly empowered Republicans who, having won …   The latest economic and domestic policy from Wonkblog   Alberto Abin leaves the UniVista Insurance office after shopping for a health plan under the Affordable Care Act in Miami. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) By Max Ehrenfreund The number of people without health insurance could more than double under Republican plans to repeal President Obama's Affordable Care Act, reaching nearly 59 million — or more than one in four Americans, according to a new analysis published Wednesday. The figures illustrate the challenges for newly empowered Republicans who, having won the presidential election after pledging to ease the financial burdens on the American working class, must work out the details of how they will deliver on their promises. About four in five of those who would become uninsured following repeal do not have a college degree, the report, from the Health Policy Center at the nonpartisan Urban Institute, projects. Two-thirds live in a household with at least one person working full time. The ACA, also known as Obamacare, provides subsidies to help subscribers afford the cost of individual policies. The law also required all Americans, with a few exceptions, to have insurance. ADVERTISEMENT   Without the subsidies or the requirement that all Americans have coverage, experts say the healthiest customers would cease buying insurance if they do not have policies through their employers or through the government. As a result, insurers would be forced to increase premiums to cover the cost of treating those sicker patients who remain. Many would find they could no longer afford coverage. Read the rest on Wonkblog. Top policy tweets A big step, if it holds: Schumer vowing Dems won't help pass an Obamacare replacement after repeal. "They own it." https://t.co/g78ELVBdUV — Alec MacGillis (@AlecMacGillis) December 7, 2016 Steve Mnuchin has created a simple test for Trump's tax policy. https://t.co/rEXbovxvSB — David Leonhardt (@DLeonhardt) December 6, 2016 Monthly reminder that Obama has made boosting pharma profits over public health a tenet of U.S. foreign policy: https://t.co/MRQv4JSoYW — Zach Carter (@zachdcarter) December 7, 2016 Most Recent Posts from Wonkblog Trump takes aim at drug companies: 'I don't like what has happened with drug prices' Trump isn't done with drug prices. By Carolyn Y. 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