Monday, June 26, 2017

Senate Bill Replacing ACA Leaves 22M More Uninsured, CBO Says

The U.S. Senate has drafted it's own version of the Affordable Care Act,   The Senate bill, called the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), also would reduce the federal deficit by $321 billion over the next 10 years, $202 billion more than what the House bill would save, the CBO said in a report released today. 



Senate Bill Replacing ACA Leaves 22M More Uninsured, CBO Says.

The House of Representative formulated it's own bill, The American Health Care Act.  U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday backed a draft Republican proposal to dismantle Obamacare that was unveiled Monday, saying the proposed healthcare legislation was "out for review and negotiation."

Trump, in a tweet on Tuesday morning, described the bill proposed by fellow Republicans in the House of Representatives as "Our wonderful new healthcare bill."
The plan, released late on Monday, would undo Democratic President Barack Obama's 2010 healthcare law, removing the penalty paid by Americans without insurance coverage and rolling back extra healthcare funding for the poor.
The plan was swiftly criticized by Democrats.
Although Obamacare has long been a common target of Republicans, the proposal also met with skepticism from some in the party who are concerned about the replacement plan's tax credits for buying health insurance and changes to coverage under Medicaid, the government health insurance program for the poor.

The plan must pass both the Republican-led House of Representatives as well as the Senate, where it faces a higher bar for passage, making its future uncertain.Both bills address cost saving as compared to the original affordable care act.  Neither addresses insuring the uninsurable or pre-existing clauses for denial of insurance coverage.


The BCRA has already been panned by major medical societies for reducing healthcare coverage, particularly in the Medicaid program. One of the most strongly worded criticisms from organized medicine came today from the American Medical Association (AMA). In a letter to the US Senate, AMA Executive Vice President and CEO James Madara, MD, said the BCRA in many ways violates the physician's imperative of "first, do no harm".
"We believe that Congress should be working to increase the number of Americans with access to quality, affordable health insurance instead of pursuing policies that have the opposite effect," Dr Madara wrote.
Neither House or Senate Bill prioritizes patient access or quality of care. It is more about budgetary requirements.  Patients seem to be a side issue.


Senate Bill Replacing ACA Leaves 22M More Uninsured, CBO Says

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