On May 4, 2017, the House of Representatives narrowly passed a bill that will repeal and replace the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Republican-backed American Health Care Act (AHCA) passed in the House with a final vote of 217 to 213. President Trump, the Trump Administration, and House Speaker Paul Ryan consider this a major win. However, the AHCA may face significant opposition in the Senate, so it is uncertain whether the AHCA in its current form will become law.
Continue Reading House Passes American Health Care Act
Key Provisions of the American Health Care Act
On March 6, 2017, Republicans in the House of Representatives unveiled two bills that aim to repeal and replace the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The bills, collectively called the American Health Care Act, were introduced by the Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce committees, and both committees have since passed the legislation.
The much-anticipated Republican ACA replacement would dismantle many of the healthcare reforms put in place over the past seven years, including the individual mandate and Medicaid expansion.Continue Reading Key Provisions of the American Health Care Act
Navigating the ACA in the Trump Era
Overview
On November 8, 2016, the future of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) became more uncertain. Republicans in Congress have been working to repeal the ACA since it was passed in 2010, and now, with control of both houses of Congress and the White House, they may finally get the chance to do so. President-elect Trump has stated that the Trump Administration will work with Congress to repeal the ACA and replace it with a “patient-centered healthcare system” that includes Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), the return of high-risk pools and the “modernization” of Medicare. Trump announced this week the nomination of Georgia Congressman Tom Price, a physician and long-time critic of the ACA, as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Additionally, Speaker Paul Ryan has set forth his “A Better Way” healthcare reform plan that would repeal and replace the ACA. Ryan’s plan includes substantial reform to Medicaid through per capita allotment financing and block grants; the creation of a “Medicare Exchange” in which private plans would compete with traditional fee-for-service Medicare; and Medicare “premium support” payments that would be paid by Medicare directly to the private plan or the fee-for-service program to subsidize its cost.Continue Reading Navigating the ACA in the Trump Era