There are quite a few bad things about the “Obamacare” replacement. So many, in fact, that both Democrats and far right Tea Party type Republicans are unhappy.

Two things jump out at me that seem to be really poor decisions.

Mandate Replacement

Republicans hated the mandate, even though Republican Mitt Romney included it in his Massachusettes health care program. So the answer Republicans came up with was to end the requirement for everyone to carry insurance and replace it with the requirement that insurance companies charge 30% more for premiums if an individual’s coverage lapses for two months or more. I don’t know what they’re thinking, but this seems destined to push young people into not reinstating coverage once they drop it. That’s not good for young people or insurance companies! If I were young and healthy, I would just avoid having insurance until I actually needed it.

Old People Surcharge

The other huge negative is that the new bill allows insurance companies to charge older customers five times more than younger customers. This will, in all likelihood, make insurance unaffordable for older people that aren’t covered by their jobs.

There are lots of other bad things such as huge cuts to Medicaid, big reductions in subsidies for a huge part of the population, and subsidies that are based on age. So while older people will get twice the subsidy as young people they could be charged five times as much. As someone eyeing early retirement, this seems like a huge turnoff to me.

The dislike of this bill by both the far right and Democrats gives me hope Republicans aren’t going to be able to get this done. Especially with a weak, lazy, and unfocused President like Republican Donald Trump.