The Congressional Budget Office also will score the bill, meaning they will provide an estimate of the cost of the bill. This cost estimate's intent is to ensure the members of the House and Senate are informed of the budgetary consequences of enacting the specific legislation. The process of reconciliation allows the consideration of a budget bill to be debated no longer than 20 hours under Senate rules, and these bills are not subject to filibuster. While there is reconciliation in the House of Representatives, the House passes more rules to limit debate.
Already, one of the largest associations in the country has come out opposing the bill: AARP. formerly know as the American Association of Retired Persons. AARP represents over 37M members in the United States. AARP is against the premium increases for older Americans, the fact that nothing has been done to address drug costs and the potential cuts to Medicaid. You can find their press release here.
The AHCA does not repeal the Cadillac Tax, just pushes it off to 2025 - which is just an excise tax that neither party has much support behind. Also missing from this bill is the ability for consumers to purchase insurance across state lines, which was talked about by both the White House and the Republican Congress during the election.
Peck Madigan Jones has put together a Repeal & Replace Summary below, that also includes links to both the Ways and Means & the Energy and Commerce pieces of the bill.
You can find a summary from Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee Kevin Brady R-TX here and a summary from the Energy & Commerce Committee here.
Stay tuned for more details to come out and changes, probably on a daily basis. The goal is to get this bill on the floor to vote by the end of April - however, I have seen this industry change twice in my career now, and it doesn't happen overnight.
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