Washington Post Reveals Details Of Secretive GOP Senate Health Care Bill
  • 7 years ago
Details are finally emerging about the health care overhaul bill Senate Republicans have been working on behind closed doors.

Details are finally emerging about the health care overhaul bill Senate Republicans have been working on behind closed doors.
The Washington Post reported on Wednesday, “A discussion draft circulating Wednesday afternoon among aides and lobbyists would roll back the [Affordable Care Act’s] taxes, phase down its Medicaid expansion, rejigger its subsidies, give states wider latitude in opting out of its regulations and eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood.” 
While the publication notes that there is significant overlap with the House bill that passed, some notable differences include subsidies that would be tied to income, not age, more gradual but deeper cuts to Medicaid in the long term, and the removal of "language restricting federally-subsidized health plans from covering abortions," possibly due to budget rules. 
Furthermore, NBC Washington says, citing sources, “the Senate plan would drop the House bill's waivers allowing states to let insurers boost premiums on some people with pre-existing conditions.”
The GOP is expected to release a draft of their bill on Thursday amid criticism from both sides of the aisle about the secretive process.
Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah who is supposed to be working on the bill said on Tuesday that he had not yet seen the proposal. 
He explained, “It’s apparently being written by a small handful of staffers for members of the Republican leadership in the Senate. So if you’re frustrated by the lack of transparency in this process, I share your frustration. I share it wholeheartedly.” 
Meanwhile, Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer has said that “Republicans are writing their healthcare bill under the cover of darkness because they are ashamed of it.” 
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