Health Care Archives

Jun 30, 2017

Senate Leader Needs to Bring the Republicans Together to Pass The Health Care Bill

As mentioned in prior blog posts, the Republicans hold a slim majority in the Senate and need 50 out of 52 Republicans to vote for the health care bill. Both conservatives and centrists want different provisions in the bill, and Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R.-KY.) is struggling to bring the factions together in a way that will attract the votes of both of these groups. Once rewritten, he still needs to produce a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score of the legislation’s impact on coverage levels and federal spending. Senate McConnell is planning on sending a revised version of… Read more

Jun 28, 2017

Senate Health Care Bill -No July 4th Celebration

Today, Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R. KY.) announced that the health care bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will not be put up for a vote in the Senate until after the July 4th holiday. According to the New York Times (6/27, Steinhauer, Subscription Publication), it appears that he “miscalculated in the first round of play.” He is said to have “put his legislative thumb on the scale in favor of conservatives, quickly alienating” other senators including Sens. Susan Collins (R. ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R. AK). Other Senators have also opposed the Medicaid eligibility… Read more

Jun 26, 2017

Health Care Bill-Opposition Continues While CBO to Weigh In On Cost

As previously discussed in this blog, a discussion draft of the Senate version of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) was introduced in the Senate last Thursday. Since that time, in addition to unanimous condemnation from the Democrats, including rallies by former Presidential candidate and Senator Bernie Sanders (D., Vt.), several Republican Senators have also voiced their opposition to portions of the bill. In some cases, it is demand for including certain provisions, such as opioid treatment. But the key point of contention appears to be the bill’s treatment of Medicaid. As a reminder, Medicaid is a Federal/State collaboration, with… Read more

Jun 22, 2017

Senate Health Care Bill Introduced Today

The Senate health care bill, titled as the “Better Care Reconciliation Act” was introduced today. The discussion draft of the bill ( a mere 142 pages) is the Senate version of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) passed by the House. Included in the draft is an additional $50 billion over four years to stabilize insurance exchanges. It also includes $15 billion a year in market-stabilizing funds over the next two years and $10 billion a year in 2020 and 2021. Under this bill, cost-sharing subsidy payments will remain available. $62 billion has also been allocated over eight years for… Read more

Jun 21, 2017

Coming Tomorrow-Draft of Senate Health Care Bill

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) stated today that a discussion draft of the Senate version of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) will be presented tomorrow, with plans for a vote next week before the July 4th break. He also stated that, although the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) still has to determine the cost of the bill, he expected that process would be completed next week. Under the House version of the AHCA, an estimated 23 million people could lose their health care according to the CBO. Senator McConnell said on Tuesday that the Senate health-care bill would… Read more

Jun 20, 2017

Senate May Vote on Health Care Next Week (Quietly)

As reported in several media outlets, the Senate appears ready to schedule a vote on the American Health Care Act (AHCA), the proposed replacement for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). As mentioned in my blog yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) wants a vote on the bill before the July 4 recess. The fate of Medicaid expansion and tax credits to consumers, sticking points for many Senate Republicans, appear to be close to resolution. Under an option being strongly considered, the AHCA would include deeper financial cuts to Medicaid, which may draw criticism from some Republican governors who desire… Read more

Jun 19, 2017

Senate to Consider Health Law Bill Before End of June?

Last week, a story in the Washington Post (6/15, Sullivan, Snell), stated that the Senate was poised to consider the health care bill by the end of the month, before the summer recess. However, the article also states that other Republicans were “skeptical” that the Senate would be able to vote on the bill before the recess. What we do know is that the “repeal and replace” of the ACA (Affordable Care Act) in the Senate is being conducted behind closed doors by 13 Republican Senators. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) continues to push for a vote before the July… Read more

May 25, 2017

CBO Scores the American Health Care Act Passed by the House – Cuts Deficit and Number of People Insured

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has just released its estimate of the impact of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on May 4th of this year. (As a reminder, the AHCA was passed by the House before the nonpartisan CBO could determine its impact.) According to the CBO, when compared to the current Affordable Care Act (ACA), the AHCA would leave 23 million more people uninsured while reducing the cumulative federal deficit by $119 billion over the next ten years. The CBO also estimates that insurance premiums under the AHCA will increase by… Read more

Mar 6, 2017

ACA Repeal-and-Replace Bill Released

On Monday, March 6, 2017, the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Ways and Means Committee of the U. S. House of Representatives released the American Health Care Act (the “Act”), which would repeal and replace portions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”). Notable provisions in the Act that would affect employer-sponsored health plans include: Reduce to zero the penalty for employers that fail to offer minimum essential coverage to their employees. Reduce to zero the individual mandate to obtain health insurance. Replace income-based tax credits for purchasing private insurance with age-based tax credits. Encourage the… Read more