A big problem with the health bill currently before the Senate is that very few low-income people would purchase any plan, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Unlike the House version, the Senate bill caps the amount of premium for someone at the poverty level at 2.4% of income. In theory, this means that a family of three coming off Medicaid would face a premium of less than $500 for private coverage. But since the deductible would exceed $6,000, this is like not having health insurance at all for a young, healthy family.
How can we make health insurance affordable and attractive at the same time for these families?