It appears likely that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is planning to bring the Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson proposed legislation that would repeal and replace parts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to a vote later this week.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has not yet scored the proposal. However, an analysis conducted by KNG Health Consulting found that more than 20 million individuals would lose coverage by 2026, and the proposal would result in $275 billion less in federal funding to states. This is similar to CBO projections for earlier versions of repeal and replace legislation, which found that 22 million individuals or more would lose coverage, and hundreds of billions of dollars would be cut from the health care system.
Ongoing concerns expressed over the weekend resulted in a number of last-minute revisions to the bill by providing additional state funding to states like Alaska and Maine to entice votes by Senators Murkowski (R-AK) and Collins (R-ME), who up to this point have indicated strong reservations. An abbreviated CBO score is anticipated by Tuesday.
AHA issued a joint statement on Saturday with the American Medical Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, Federation of American Hospitals, America’s Health Insurance Plans, and the BlueCross BlueShield Association strongly opposing the legislation.
It is vitally important that the health care field continues to make its voice heard and ask that the Senate protect our most vulnerable citizens and find ways to maintain coverage for as many South Dakotans and Americans as possible by rejecting this legislation, including its elimination of Medicaid expansion, untenable cuts to the Medicaid program, and dilution of consumer protections.
AHA will be holding a Virtual Advocacy Day on Wednesday, September 27 to urge senators to reject the Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson proposal to repeal and replace parts of the Affordable Care Act. Please participate in this effort and magnify the message to senators through an AHA advocacy link here and by accessing our Legislative Action Center. Send a message to senators urging them to oppose the legislation.
