Winners & losers if Obamacare subsidies become GOP tax credits
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The Kaiser Family Foundation quickly compiled data comparing the current Obamacare subsidy given to people on exchanges with the GOP refundable tax credit included in the repeal and replacement bill released Monday. It let us take this data and show how different people would fare compared to what assistance they receive now.
Data: Kaiser Family Foundation; Chart: Lazaro Gamio / Axios
The Obamacare premium subsidy: This is income-based and offered to people on exchanges who make between 100 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level. It varies with geography and with the price of premiums.
The GOP refundable tax credit: It varies only by age, with people in their 20s getting $2,000 a year; it then increases until people in their 60s receive $4,000 a year. The bill phases out the tax credit for high earners, beginning at an income of $75,000 a year for an individual and $150,000 for a household.
Winners under the tax credit:
- Young people
- Higher-income people
- People who live in areas with low premiums, which are often urban
Losers under the tax credit:
- Older people
- Low-income people
- People who live in places with expensive premiums, which are often rural
