Now that the Senate has rejected Republicans' ACA repeal and replacement plan, the Better Care Reconciliation Act, and a straight ACA repeal plan, it is now considering a more stripped down alternative — the "skinny repeal."
Here are six things to know about the latest Republican healthcare proposal.
1. The "skinny repeal" would ax three of the most unpopular parts of the ACA. Namely, it would focus on the individual mandate, the employer mandate and the medical device tax, according to a report from Chicago Tribune.
2. Similar proposals have surfaced before. A comparable bill was proposed in the House two years ago, according to Chicago Tribune, and former President Barack Obama actually ran on a similar proposal in 2008, according to The New York Times.
3. However, policy experts believe the plan may not work. Though the individual mandate is unpopular, it encourages more healthy people to enroll in coverage, creating a larger risk pool and driving down premiums, according to The New York Times.
4. The plan would, however, buy time for Republicans in the House and Senate, according to Chicago Tribune. If the skinny repeal is passed by the Senate, it would then have a conference committee with the House, providing time to craft a potential replacement. NBC News reported the skinny repeal "could be a placeholder for a broader legislative plan down the road."
5. Compared to other proposals, it may have a better chance of gaining support. This is because it avoids many of the issues Republicans had trouble agreeing on, like Medicaid expansion and insurance regulations.
6. The bill would increase the number of uninsured people by 15 million and reduce the deficit by an estimated $225 billion over the next decade, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. CRFB based its analysis on past reports from the Congressional Budget Office of similar proposals. The individual mandate would save the most — $416 billion — due to Medicaid savings and a reduction in subsidies. It would also cause the bulk of the drop in insurance, according to the analysis. A repeal of the employer mandate is expected to have little effect on insurance coverage, but cost as much as $171 billion due to a loss of penalties. Eliminating the medical device tax is estimated to cost $20 billion over the next decade.
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