June 22, 2017
Takeaways from Senate GOP’s “Better Care Reconciliation Act”
Senate Republicans released their health reform overhaul today after weeks of intrigue. The Council is extremely pleased to note that the legislation leaves the employer/employee “exclusion” from taxation on group health benefits untouched. Taxing employee premiums is a major threat during this process as Congress looks to increase revenue for the measure. We’re also gratified that the “Cadillac Tax” on high cost health plans would continue to be delayed until 2025.
The fight going forward is going to be over the reoriented subsidies and Medicaid. There is nothing explicit that allows states to waive out of anything new but the general waiver requirements process has been expanded.
See a comparison of the ACA, the AHCA and the Better Care Reconciliation Act.
Read a summary of the key provisions.
Insurer Filing Deadline
The insurer filing deadline to provide ACA marketplace coverage was yesterday. Click here to learn more.
Monday: The Council’s Healthcare PULSE Conference Call
Join us this coming Monday, June 26, for the first installation of The Council’s monthly Healthcare PULSE conference call. These calls are intended to help you stay updated on what we’re working on here in Washington and to inject collaboration and forward-thinking into the issues you care about most amidst U.S. healthcare reform.
Click here to register for the calls (Members Only).
Calls will be held on the fourth Monday of each month at 2:00 p.m. ET.
July 24
August 28
September 25
Employer-Sponsored Insurance
The employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) market is the most effective system of delivering healthcare benefits in the United States. Therefore, lawmakers must preserve the tax treatment of employer-sponsored health insurance.
Stabilize the Individual Market
An unhealthy individual market impacts the functioning and costs of the entire health eco system, including the highly functioning employer market. Download our one-pager on the individual market.
Joel Kopperud, Vice President, Government Affairs:
- Single-payer health care would have an astonishingly high price tag (Washington Post)
Cheryl Matochik, Senior Vice President, Strategic Resources & Initiatives:
- Joe Manchin Says No to Single Payer Lindsey Graham Floats Single Payer for Sick People (singlepayeraction.org)
Michael Kanick, Digital Marketing Strategist: