GOP senators are trying to strike a balance that’s proving difficult: lowering healthcare insurance premiums for young adults while shielding older people from massive price hikes.
At issue is an ObamaCare provision that essentially caps how much insurers can charge older people for premiums.
Republicans want to raise that cap, saying it vastly undercharges older people for their healthcare services, creating higher costs for younger, healthier adults.
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A bipartisan group of senators met in the Capitol on Monday night to discuss whether there is a bipartisan way forward on healthcare reform.
The meeting was organized by Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who have put forward a more centrist healthcare plan that would allow states to keep much of ObamaCare in place if they choose.
While senators said the meeting was preliminary and just discussing ideas broadly, the push for a bipartisan solution could potentially emerge as an alternative to the Republican-only repeal and replace approach from leadership.
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Almost every promise made eight years ago about ObamaCare turned out to be a falsehood. You couldn’t keep your insurance plan, doctor or provider in many cases. It didn’t save $2,500 per family (more like $2,500 more). It didn’t lead to expanded patient choice. And the tax increases badly hurt the economy and jobs market, and the insurance markets really have entered a death spiral that if left unfixed will blow-up the entire insurance market.
The fundamental lie of ObamaCare is revealed in the law’s very title: The Affordable Care Act.
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The MacArthur amendment focuses on an idea that’s core to Republicans’ DNA: federalism. That’s a positive step forward. But what still seems to be lacking is a strategic roadmap for what Congress and the Administration should be trying to achieve. By laying out this roadmap, the Administration can bridge the gap between Republican moderates and conservatives, and possibly open up a much-needed dialogue with centrist Democrats.
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Some lawmakers are also discussing changes to the bill to help bring moderates on board. How to balance the demands of the two groups is a difficult task, and no one has found the right formula yet.
Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), co-chairman of the moderate Tuesday Group, said “it’d be hard” to design a bill that both he and the Freedom Caucus could support. Dent also offered stark criticisms of the latest bill, which he saw as an “exercise in blame-shifting” to make centrists appear responsible for the failure to Trump instead of conservatives.
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White House officials presented an offer to the conservative House Freedom Caucus on Monday night as they seek to revive the ObamaCare replacement bill. Vice President Mike Pence and other White House officials presented an idea to the Freedom Caucus meeting to allow states to choose to apply for waivers to repeal two ObamaCare regulations that conservatives argue are driving up premiums.
Those two regulations detail ObamaCare’s essential health benefits, which mandate which health services insurers must cover, and “community rating,” which prevents insurers from charging sick people higher premiums.
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bamaCare architect Zeke Emanuel met with Trump administration officials at the White House on Thursday, a White House official confirmed.
The meeting, which was first reported by Vox, follows a sitdown between Emanuel, who advised former President Barack Obama on healthcare, and President Trump earlier this month.
After the collapse of the House Republican ObamaCare replacement bill last week, Trump said he thinks the health law will “explode” and Democrats will then come to the table for a deal.
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As House Republicans struggle to find a way to repeal ObamaCare, the two GOP senators from Tennessee are looking to temporarily fix an issue that may strike the health insurance exchanges next year.
A bill introduced by Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker would allow people to use their ObamaCare subsidies to purchase any state-approved plan on the private market if there are no insurers selling policies on the federal exchange in their county.
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Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price came into office last month ready to lead the charge on repealing ObamaCare. Now, that effort has run into a brick wall, leaving him to oversee a law he fiercely opposes.
President Trump last week predicted that ObamaCare “soon will explode,” stirring speculation that the administration could seek to undermine the law.
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The Senate is advancing Seema Verma, President Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Senators voted 54-44 Thursday on her nomination, which needed only a simple majority to overcome the initial procedural hurdle.
The Senate could take a final vote on Verma on Friday night, but her confirmation is expected to be kicked to Monday.
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