- Republicans appear to be making headway on their pledge to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In a bill introduced by four senators, led by Louisiana's Bill Cassidy, the taxes and fees that fund the ACA would remain and states would be allowed to keep the basics of the law, including Medicare funding, if they choose. States that opt out would receive funding to automatically enroll all uninsured residents into a catastrophic care plan. The individual mandate and other requirements would be eliminated. Sen. Cassidy says, "If we address that, we've repealed Obamacare."
- Catastrophic care insurance is a bare-bones replacement for coverage under the ACA, possibly cheaper than current plans, but probably not "better" and "more extensive" as claimed by President Trump.
- Last week, the Congressional Budget Office released its analysis of Rep. Tom Price's Obamacare replacement bill which showed significant damage when 18M Americans exit coverage after funding is gutted.
- Cassidy's bill implicitly acknowledges that Price's approach is unrealistic, both politically and fiscally. It aims to correct deficiencies in the ACA and build on its achievements, a much more reasonable objective.
- Source: Bloomberg
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