08 July, 2017
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says if the Republican effort to repeal much of the Obama health care law fails, a more limited bill will be needed to buttress health insurance marketplaces around the country.
The elected official touched on a number of issues at the forefront of debate in Washington, D.C. - most notably, the ongoing political battle over health care.
After the Congressional Budget Office estimated that 23 million people would lose insurance coverage under the House plan, the Senate made clear it would write its own bill rather than voting on the House measure.
After opening remarks, the floor was opened to attendees.
Democrats, who worked hard to expand coverage under the Affordable Care Act, might wish to prevent sharp coverage losses.
Rep. Mike Kelly was the first to abandon us on the health care bill, supporting legislation that only an insurance company executive or a wealthy American could love. Sen. "So, Medicaid is a lifeline for many disabled people".
In a joint statement, the medical groups said they are not just speaking for doctors, but also "thousands of low-income Alabamians served by them", and they are concerned the Senate bill "fundamentally changes how Medicaid is funded".
It is the epitome of hubris for Republican lawmakers to push legislation that will diminish or eliminate so many Americans' access to quality, affordable care, forcing them to pay more for less, and taking from the poor to give to the rich. But don't expect Medicaid or Child Health Plus to step in.
Under the BCRA, about 730,000 additional Pennsylvanians could be uninsured by 2026 and about 320,000 people would lose the coverage provided by the Affordable Care Act, according to the report.
That $4 billion may seem like a small amount of money when you consider it makes up only 1 percent of Medicaid reimbursements; but given that only $13 billion in federal funding goes to helping schools comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), it isn't chump change. "We're living in a society where people are losing coverage instead of gaining coverage if we pass this bill". "And without the benefits and services of Medicaid he would have to be in an institutional setting at over $300,000 a year".
The ACA also enabled many Americans to consider entrepreneurship by ending the disincentive known as "job lock", which kept many Americans in jobs they didn't want because they feared losing their health insurance.
While some conservative senators like Texas' Ted Cruz and Kentucky's Rand Paul say the bill doesn't go far enough, moderates are anxious about the impact of Medicaid funding cuts, particularly on opioid addicts who rely on Medicaid for treatment.
