Senate GOP health bill would reshape Obama law

McConnell said it would no longer mandate Americans to buy care they do not need or can not afford. The House bill tied its tax credits to age. And Susan Collins of ME reiterated her opposition to language blocking federal money for Planned Parenthood, which many Republicans oppose because it provides abortions.

Trump has urged the Republican-led Senate to pass a more “generous” Bill than the one approved by the House.

Pre-existing conditions: The Senate bill would require insurers to cover those with pre-existing conditions and charge everyone the same regardless of health history.

As NPR’s Danielle Kurtzleben reports, the BCRA is similar in many ways to the House’s health care alternative, the American Health Care Act, that passed last month.

Senate Majority Mitch McConnell, who crafted most of the plan, presented the Better Care Reconciliation Act Of 2017 to the upper chamber on Thursday.

“We have to act”, McConnell said.

If legislation is to prevail in the Senate, McConnell can lose the support of only two of his 52 Republicans, assuming all 48 Democrats and independents oppose the bill, as expected. Enough have voiced concerns to make clear that McConnell and other leaders have work to do before passage is assured. Many families will be forced to drop their coverage because they can no longer afford it, putting their economic security and even their lives at risk.

“I think right now the challenge is how do we get to 50”.

Not only did the suggestion irk Republicans because of its implication of callousness, but Trump’s suggestion would also put the bill at risk of violating Senate rules.

Democrats said the measure would result in skimpier policies and higher out-of-pocket costs for many and erode gains made under Obama that saw roughly 20 million additional Americans gain coverage.

The sources said, according to the AP, that in some instances, the documents McConnell planned to release might suggest optional approaches for issues that remain in dispute among Republicans.

The Senate bill would, beginning in 2020, phase out over four years extra money that Obamacare offered to states that expanded Medicare coverage for low-income people, The Associated Press reported. Pelosi said the draft still has to be scored by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

It allows states to cut back on essential benefits. The fund would also provide $10 billion a year in 2020 and 2021.

Cost-sharing subsides: The bill would also aim to shore up the existing Obamacare market by allocating funds for the cost-sharing subsidies until 2019.

The bill would establish a new system of federal tax credits to help citizens buy health insurance, and cut penalties for those who opt out.

Senate Republicans had been briefed on the plan earlier Thursday.

What is Medicaid and how is it under attack by the Senate Republican healthcare bill? Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and does not do enough to address the growing opioid addiction crisis in key states like OH and West Virginia. And in the end, if it’s good for Florida, good for America, and better than Obamacare, I’ll be supportive of it. You know, that insanely unpopular bill that last polled at a whopping 35 percent approval rating and that makes even a certain reality star-slash-president’s anemic numbers look respectable.