A lot of people are scared about what the Republican party’s planned Obamacare repeal means for them – and for good reason. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reports that up to 18 million people could lose their coverage within a year if the Affordable Care Act is repealed. On top of that, the report concludes that up to 32 million Americans could eventually lose their coverage, and that in the meantime people’s insurance rates would likely climb as the government would cut subsidies that currently help people pay their premiums.

An increase in rates by 20 to 30 percent, as the report indicates, would be hard enough for many people, even without the threat of losing their insurance entirely. So it’s important to understand what this means for you, and how it relates to preventive care and health screening.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandates that certain preventive tests and tools be offered as part of health plans offered under the health insurance marketplace. It is unfortunately possible, especially if safeguards for pre-existing conditions are eliminated under the ACA repeal, that many of these tests and procedures will not longer be automatically covered under any government-approved plan.

In addition, it is possible under a repeal that there may be certain “dead zones” in certain geographical areas where no insurance plans are offered to individuals at all through the marketplace. As NPR reports, “without the federal mandate requiring people to buy insurance, some insurance companies would stop offering plans, and in the first year ‘roughly 10 percent of the population would be living in an area that had no insurer participating’ in the market…”.

For now, it’s anyone’s guess as to how quickly the GOP moves to repeal the ACA, and what they might leave in its place. In the meantime, if there are any screening tests that you are past due to get, it is probably in your best interest to speak to your doctor right away about whether or not you should schedule them. Be sure to discuss your current healthcare plan and any known conditions – your best bet is to work with your doctor to have a smart plan for the future.

Even if you are part of a corporate or group plan, it’s worth discussing with your doctor and looking into how your premiums and coverage might change. In the meantime, be sure to pay attention to the debate over pre-existing conditions, and whether or not the ACA will be repealed before a replacement healthcare system is put into place.

We’ll keep you updated when we know more.