Essential Health Benefits: What Could Their Elimination Mean?

At almost midnight on March 22, 2017, the House Rules Committee adjourned for the night. It had been expected to adopt House leadership amendments to the American Health Care Act and then pass the entire AHCA on to the House for a floor vote on March 23, the seventh anniversary of the adoption of the ACA. Instead the Rules Committee ended the evening by adopting a “martial law,” or same day rule, allowing it to amend and send to the floor the AHCA on March 23 (or anytime thereafter up until Monday, March 27) and the House to vote on the bill the same day as the Rules Committee vote. Approval of the bill was delayed because the Republican leadership does not have the Republican votes to pass it and no Democratic support is expected. Reportedly, President Trump is negotiating with conservatives to get enough votes to pass it. Some conservatives are apparently insisting that all of the ACA’s Title I insurance reforms be repealed before they will vote for the bill. These would include not just the provisions already amended or repealed in the AHCA—the individual and employer mandate (repealed immediately); the ACA’s premium tax credits, cost-sharing reduction payments, and small business tax credits (repealed as of the end of 2019): the actuarial value metal level requirements (repealed as of the end of 2019), and the 3 to 1 age ratio rating requirement (amended to 5 to 1). Additional provisions of Title I that could potentially be repealed include: The requirement tha...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Costs and Spending Following the ACA Insurance and Coverage Source Type: blogs