House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) is planning to propose changes to the GOP’s Affordable Care Act replacement policy that would help alleviate healthcare costs for seniors.
Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Ryan said that while the American Health Care Act would help lower premiums for people over 50 years old, he believes “we should be offering more assistance than what the bill currently does.”
“We believe we should have even more assistance — and that’s one of the things we’re looking at — for that person in their 50s and 60s because they experience higher healthcare costs,” Ryan said.
Ryan also said a recent Congressional Budget Office estimate of the bill is inaccurate. The CBO’s analysis estimated that a 64-year-old with an income of $26,500 could pay $14,600 out of pocket for health insurance under the American Health Care Act, compared to $1,700 under the ACA.
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, M.D., also has indicated that changes may be made to the legislation to help seniors.
“If it needs more beefing up … for folks who are low income, between 50 and 64 years of age, that’s something that we’ve talked about, something that we’ve entertained, and that may happen throughout the process,” Price said on ABC’s “This Week.”
A House vote on the American Health Care Act is scheduled for Thursday.
