As mentioned in my previous post,
Senator Collins (R-Maine) and Senator Cassidy (R-Louisiana), have brought
forward a bill to replace the ACA. This bill is a draft, in its early
stages. The bill is something they both have worked on in the past as
they felt it was important to bring forth a measure and not just vote to
repeal.
The bill presents states with three primary options:
1. Keep the ACA - if a state likes the current way their ACA program is being administered, then keep it.
2. Give states most of the Federal funding under the ACA to create tax-free Health Savings Accounts (HSA) for low-income residents,using money from the Medicaid expansion and about 95% of the subsidies provided to folks now. Individuals can then use this HSA money to purchase insurance and offset out of pocket costs like copays and deductibles. (This is similar to the arrangement today under the HSA offering, but expanded.)
3. Do nothing - take no federal aid and manage the insurance industry on a state level.
All three of these options are going back to the states running the plans. We were there prior to the ACA, but there are risks - states who reject assistance or money will see a spike in the uninsured which will drive up costs everywhere. And we are still not solving the overarching problem that this is all health insurance reform, not healthcare reform.
Watch this bill, as Collins and Cassidy are the only two senators that have brought anything forward and both are considered moderate Republicans who could help stop the repeal and fend for yourself approach.
The bill presents states with three primary options:
1. Keep the ACA - if a state likes the current way their ACA program is being administered, then keep it.
2. Give states most of the Federal funding under the ACA to create tax-free Health Savings Accounts (HSA) for low-income residents,using money from the Medicaid expansion and about 95% of the subsidies provided to folks now. Individuals can then use this HSA money to purchase insurance and offset out of pocket costs like copays and deductibles. (This is similar to the arrangement today under the HSA offering, but expanded.)
3. Do nothing - take no federal aid and manage the insurance industry on a state level.
All three of these options are going back to the states running the plans. We were there prior to the ACA, but there are risks - states who reject assistance or money will see a spike in the uninsured which will drive up costs everywhere. And we are still not solving the overarching problem that this is all health insurance reform, not healthcare reform.
Watch this bill, as Collins and Cassidy are the only two senators that have brought anything forward and both are considered moderate Republicans who could help stop the repeal and fend for yourself approach.
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