They've been "doing it for years"...okay, so what's in it? My guess is:
1. Work Requirements. You got to be working to get Health Care. Retired, Children, and Recognized Disabled (Who went through a recognized process such as Worker's Comp, the VA, or SSDI) might be able to get coverage, but it will probably be income based. Make too much, pay market prices.
If you're unemployed, or don't have a W2/1099 job, sucks to be you. You an adult Artist, unpaid caretaker, or self-employed? Make enough money to buy your own insurance, or be some employed person's dependent. Oh, and don't claim to be a dependent of someone who's on government benefits unless you're a spouse or underaged kid...
2. Guaranteed Basic/Limited Catastrophic Care and one doctor visit (with specific co-insurance for any tests ordered, ER, or Urgent Care) per covered person only, everything else is cafeteria type coverage.
Like if you wanted to add hospitalization, cancer screening, or OB/GYN coverage; neurology, psychiatric, internal medicine, diabetic, musculoskeletal/Rheumatology, pediatric, geriatric, or some other specialized medicine coverage - all on different premiums, payments, co-insurance, pharmacy, and deductibles that seriously added up.
That's pretty much what was available to most working people and individuals between around 1990 (When previously affordable Medical Co-ops got bought out by Investors and "Health Corporations" ) and the start of the ACA.
A single person could start out with the basic/Catastrophic coverage at, say, $25 -$40 a month. Once you started adding services after the first year because you started getting older, or you developed a condition not covered under workers comp or other insurance, the prices rapidly started adding up. Within three years, I jumped from $40 a month to $180 a month, because I needed a specialist and regular medication to control a condition, and I had a co-insurance of $30 a visit and $40 additional a month for the generic for the Tier 3 medication that didn't count as part of the deductable.
In 2005, my spouse had a required co-insurance for a patent medication he needed just to be able to walk more than 500 yards without stopping at $600 a month. That wasn't counted as part of the deductible. So in December, after the Deductable was hit and all other medications were free, we still had to pay $600 for his shots.
Oh, and one had a lifetime limit before they maxed out of an affordable or employer provided plan - ($500k max was the on the cheapest plan I saw, with $2 mill as the highest level.)
The costs for those lifetime limits were reflected in the premiums; the $2 mill plan was typically $500 per person covered more a month than the other plans, and if the employer chose to, they might pay 1/2 that to help out their employees. If you had a disabled dependent, it could get really, really expensive, really, really quickly.
Back to the GOP plan...
3. Limited Heritage Foundation-approved Procedures, Formulary, and Therapies. You need something that isn't "Biblically Approved/Based" or associated with one of their LLC's or Doner Corporations? Your doctor prescribes something that isn't on your plan?
Well, "Everybody Does Sometime". If you can't afford what you need to survive or thrive, so sorry, should have been more blessed by God. You need to learn your place.
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