MEDIA RELEASE: Each of NC’s congressional districts stands to lose health coverage under American Health Care Act

Proposal would repeal financial assistance with flat, age-related tax credit that does not adjust for income or health plan costs

RALEIGH (March 20, 2017) — Under the American Health Care Act, each of North Carolina’s congressional districts stands to lose coverage gains achieved under the Affordable Care Act, according to new analysis from the NC Justice Center’s Health Advocacy Project.

“Of the more than half a million North Carolinians who enrolled in a Marketplace plan this year, over 90 percent of them are relying on the Affordable Care Act’s premium subsidies to afford their plans,” said Brendan Riley, policy analyst with the Health Advocacy Project. “The American Health Care Act would drastically cut these subsidies, reducing the help that thousands of North Carolinians in every congressional district currently receive, and pricing them out of coverage.”

The new fact sheets and interactive table show how many constituents in each of North Carolina’s 13 congressional districts stand to lose financial help that makes private health insurance coverage affordable.

Under the American Health Care Act, the average tax credit in North Carolina will be $5,360 lower than the average credit under the ACA, putting coverage at risk for hundreds of thousands of constituents in districts across the state who rely upon the ACA’s premium tax credit to afford their health insurance coverage. The AHCA would repeal that financial assistance with a flat, age-related tax credit that does not adjust for income or health plan costs. Nearly 45,000 constituents in the state’s 6th district, for example, are enrolled in a Marketplace plan, more than 90 percent of whom rely on the ACA premium tax credit.

“In particular, the North Carolinians who disproportionately need more health care services, such as adults over the age of 50, would be left behind by the American Health Care Act,” Riley said.

Overall, far too many residents will find coverage unaffordable and fewer will remain insured, risking the state’s overall progress in reducing the uninsured rate since passage of the ACA. There has been a 50 percent reduction in the uninsured rate in North Carolina’s 2nd district alone — progress that will be at risk and could be reversed by the new law.

The American Health Care Act would also eliminate Medicaid Expansion. In the 1st District, there are 27,700 people living in the coverage gap who could become eligible for quality health coverage if North Carolina closed the gap via Medicaid Expansion. Under the AHCA, these consumers will remain without affordable coverage options.

See the factsheets for all 13 districts at this link.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Brendan Riley, brendan@ncjustice.org, 919.861.2074; Julia Hawes, julia@ncjustice.org, 919.863.2406.