Republicans’ last-ditch effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Cassidy-Graham bill, repeals ACA tax credits that help working Americans afford health insurance. This year, nearly 9 million Americans are receiving an average monthly tax credit of $371, amounting to nearly $4,500 in annual savings. Alaskans stand to lose even more, at $11,700 per year. In eliminating the guarantee of these tax credits, Cassidy-Graham dramatically increases premiums for 84 percent of people on the individual market and threatens to place health coverage out of reach for millions of Americans.

Cassidy-Graham also substantially cuts federal funding for health coverage. Replacing both Medicaid expansion and premium tax credits with a temporary block grant—essentially arbitrarily capping funding without any regard to health care needs—would cut funding by $239 billion from 2020 to 2026. After 2026, the Cassidy-Graham block grant expires and leaves states on the hook for more than $250 billion in 2027 alone.

States would have far less funding from the federal government to help Americans afford coverage. This puts already cash-strapped states in the untenable position of having to choose between keeping health care affordable for their residents and funding other critical areas like education.