obamacare Archives

Sep 21, 2017

Senate’s Last “Gasp” Effort to Repeal and Replace the ACA

Republicans are making a last “gasp” effort to pass “repeal and replace” legislation in the Senate, before the “reconciliation” clock runs out. A new health care “repeal and replace” bill, introduced by Sens. Lindsey Graham, (R-S.C.), Bill Cassidy, (R-La.), and others will be slated for a vote next week. This bill, like earlier Senate versions, would repeal the employer and individual mandate, and eliminate others taxes such as the medical device tax. It’s most controversial provision relates to how the Medicaid expansion of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the states’ premium support subsidies will be allocated. The bill provides… Read more

Jul 30, 2017

Skinny Reform Failed- Is Health Care Reform Dead, or Just on Life Support?

In a late night session ending at 1:30 a.m. on Friday, the Republicans’ seven-year promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) appeared to end, at least for the time being. John McCain, who dramatically returned to Washington to vote on health care reform after his brain cancer diagnosis, voted “No” on skinny repeal, sending the bill to defeat by a one-vote margin. The ACA will remain in place—at least for now—but there are huge questions about how the Trump administration will handle key aspects of the law, as deadlines loom for insurers’ decisions about next year. President Trump has… Read more

Jul 27, 2017

Senate “Repeal” Failed, Now Try “Skinny” Repeal of Obamacare

Yesterday, the “repeal bill” known as the Obamacare Repeal Reconciliation Act (ORRA) failed to win enough votes for passage, losing 45-55. Now, Republican Senators will try to pass what has been dubbed a “skinny repeal” bill that will eliminate the mandates for employers and individuals to maintain health coverage, and potentially roll back medical device and other corporate taxes. The exact bill has not yet been crafted, but many Republicans appear to be determined to find some way to keep the health care debate alive. As stated by Senator Thom Tillis (R., N.C.), “we need an outcome, and if a so-called… Read more

Jul 26, 2017

Senate Votes Again On Health Care: Is There an End Game?

Late Tuesday, the Senate voted by a narrow margin (a 51-50 vote that required a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence) to debate health care reform. Just seven hours later, as expected, the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) failed on a 43-57 vote. Nine Republican senators voted “no” on the BCRA, as did all Democrats. The Republicans were Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Dean Heller of Nevada, Bob Corker of Tennessee, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Mike Lee of Utah. This version of BCRA… Read more

Jul 20, 2017

Health Care “Repeal and Replace” Becomes “Repeal, and Replace Later”

After the collapse this week of the Senate’s version of the “repeal and replace” legislation, the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), a “repeal and replace in 2 years” bill was introduced in the Senate on July 19, 2017. The “Obamacare Repeal Reconciliation Act of 2017” (ORRA) is based on a repeal bill passed in 2015 by the House of Representatives and the Senate but vetoed by then-President Obama. The ORRA would repeal various provisions of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) but delay the effective date of repeal for two years, during which Congress would craft replacement legislation. Assuming the Senate… Read more

Jul 18, 2017

Senate Calls Off Replace, Now Focuses of Repeal of Obamacare

Last night, Senator Mitch McConnell admitted defeat of the Senate’s health care bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA). “Regretfully, it is now apparent that the effort to repeal and immediately replace the failure of Obamacare will not be successful,” he admitted after two more Republican Senators, Mike Lee of Utah and Jerry Moran of Kanas, announced that they will be voting “no” on the bill. This defeat comes after the decision on Monday to delay the vote as Senator John McCain, a supporter of the bill, recovers from removal of a blood clot above his left eye. Now, Senator… Read more

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 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