Postcard From Capitol Hill: When Health Care Takes a Breather
Sen. John McCain’s surgery impacted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s ambition to push health care bill forward this week.
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Sen. John McCain’s surgery impacted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s ambition to push health care bill forward this week.
The Senate draft bill released Thursday to replace the Affordable Care Act risks creating a high-cost ghetto for those with preexisting conditions or long-term sickness, experts say.
KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner and KHN senior correspondent Mary Agnes Carey have been featured on a variety of radio and television shows to discuss the revised Senate GOP legislation to overhaul the Affordable Care Act.
Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Sarah Kliff of Vox.com, and Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times discuss the changes to the proposed Senate health bill.
Six in 10 Americans say they do not approve of the Senate Republicans’ plan to replace Obamacare, according to a poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
A new study found that fewer than half of people with health savings accounts deposited any money in them in 2016.
At least two Republicans have already said they cannot support the new legislative draft, which means all other GOP senators would have to agree to the bill to pass it.
The Senate releases an updated draft of its health care legislation. Read the bill and compare with the original.
Congressional Republicans are keen to loosen restrictions set by the federal health law on insurance sold by associations that small employers join.
The California Nurses Association, representing some 100,000 registered nurses, is regarded statewide and nationally as a progressive political powerhouse. “Politicians are afraid” of the activists they turn out, said one critic.
Patient advocates say that the Senate Republicans’ proposal to change federal funding for Medicaid could lead to more shutdowns of rural facilities, reduced payments to doctors and fewer programs for people with health needs or disabilities.
The Republican plan to replace Obamacare would reduce federal funding for Medicaid, but senators want to keep current funding levels for children who are blind or have other disabilities. Their proposal, however, would not apply to the majority of those kids.
The Senate health care bill has a provision to increase hospital beds for psychiatric care, but overall cuts in Medicaid could lead to even fewer beds nationwide.
Current law requires all health insurance sold on the exchanges to cover 10 essential benefits — with no annual or lifetime limits to reimbursement. But the GOP plan might let states reinstate limits.
Similar to the House-passed American Health Care Act, the Senate GOP health bill would change or eliminate more than a dozen taxes that were put in place to help pay for provisions of the Affordable Care Act.
Elizabeth MacDonough, the Senate’s parliamentarian, will be in the hot seat as she is called upon to decide which provisions of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s bill draft fit the tight rules that allow for it to be passed without a filibuster.
A California law that takes effect July 1 prohibits out-of-network charges if you visit a medical facility that’s in your health plan’s network. New York and Florida also offer strong consumer protections.
Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post discuss the state of the Senate’s effort to replace Obamacare.
Provisions in the Senate’s “repeal and replace” bill could help some young adults by lowering the cost of premiums but could hurt others who gained insurance through a massive expansion to Medicaid.
The Senate health bill to repeal Obamacare hews closely to the electoral calendar, delaying much of the pain until after Republicans face re-election in Congress, statehouses and the White House.
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