Three separate Republican proposals to repeal the Affordable Care Act failed to pass last week in the Senate.
First, the most recent version of the Better Care Reconciliation Act (repeal & replace) was voted down on Tuesday, July 25 by a vote of 43-57. This bill included the Cruz amendment which would have permitted the sale of health plans outside of the exchanges that did not comply with ACA coverage requirements as long as the insurer also sold ACA-compliant plans on the exchange. This version also included approximately $70 billion in additional funding for states to use in reducing premiums and containing out-of-pocket medical costs.
Next, a partial repeal bill (repeal & delay) failed by a vote of 45-55 on Wednesday. This bill was similar to a repeal bill vetoed by President Obama in 2015.
Finally, a scaled-down version, the Health Care Freedom Act (dubbed the “skinny” repeal) failed late Thursday night, July 27, by a vote of 49-51. In a dramatic end to the week, Senator John McCain, R-Arizona, cast the final vote to defeat the bill. This version of the bill would have eliminated the individual and employer coverage mandates, kept the Medicaid program intact, and extended the moratorium on the medical device tax until December 31, 2020.
For more detailed information about the different versions of the repeal proposals please see the following news articles:
Senate ObamaCare repeal bill falls in shocking vote
The Senate’s Health Care Freedom Act
The Three Plans to Repeal Obamacare That Failed in the Senate This Week
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Mike
