Shannon Muchmore | Sept. 26, 2017
Dive Brief:
- The Senate will not vote on the Graham-Cassidy bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) this week, the bill’s authors said Tuesday.
- The budget reconciliation process Republicans need to pass any repeal legislation ends Saturday. GOP leaders have pledged to continue their efforts, but it would now require procedural maneuvering, and an agreement to forego other legislative priorities.
- Graham-Cassidy would have overhauled the nation’s healthcare system, giving states immense power to create their own coverage system, but with restricted funding and precious little time to do so. It went beyond previous repeal bills in the House and Senate, and had provisions that could remove protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
The prospects of the GOP plan to repeal the ACA are looking worse than they ever have in President Donald Trump’s administration. Party leaders may not be willing to acknowledge it, but the chances of another repeal bill getting to a vote this session are very slim.
Estimates from non-government agencies agreed that about 30 million people would probably lose coverage under Graham-Cassidy. The Congressional Budget Office released a preliminary report on Graham-Cassidy on Monday, finding it would result in millions losing coverage, particularly after 2020. The agency said a regular analysis would require several more weeks.
The healthcare industry was fiercely opposed to the proposal, including groups representing doctors, hospitals, payers and patients. All 50 state Medicaid directors also signed on to a letter slamming the bill, as did 36 current and former state insurance commissioners.
A few healthcare executives also took the unusual step of speaking out specifically against the plan. Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove said in a statement the bill would “threaten the financial viability of hospitals nationwide.” Kaiser Permanente CEO Bernard Tyson said Graham-Cassidy’s block funding would “erode coverage of needed medical services and pose major issues for state budgets.”
A variety of polls showed the public was not generally fond of the proposal either. At a Senate hearing Monday afternoon, hundreds of people protesting the bill stood in the hearing room and surrounding hallways chanting: “No cuts to Medicaid. Save our liberty.”
This story is still in progress and will be updated as new information is available.
Source: Healthcare Dive
http://www.healthcaredive.com/news/no-vote-for-graham-cassidy-aca-repeal-bill/505855/