The American Health Care Act would hurt Medicare

As part of Obamacare, the federal government increased payroll taxes to help pay for the Medicare Trust Fund. That fund is used to reimburse hospitals when seniors come in and need treatment.

Trump’s bill does away with those new taxes. As a result, the Medicare Trust Fund would go broke about four years earlier than currently projected, in 2025 instead of 2029. This would either force hospitals to either swallow the costs themselves, turn away Medicare enrollees, or both. Here’s what the tax repeal would do to the trust fund, according to the Brookings Institution:

View image on Twitter

View image on Twitter

 

Repealing the ACA’s tax on high income households and hospitals would exhaust the Medicare Trust fund by 2024 http://brook.gs/2hSsObR