Senate Republicans release revised Trumpcare bill

(Reuters) – Senate Republican leaders, aiming to salvage efforts backed by President Donald Trump to dismantle the Obamacare law, on Thursday unveiled revised healthcare legislation that lets insurers sell bare-bones policies and retains key taxes on the wealthy. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, known as a skillful tactician, released the updated legislation in a bid to unite disparate Republican factions and make good on his party’s 7-year mission to gut Democratic former President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement. The proposal replaces an earlier one that deeply divided Trump’s fellow Republicans, who control the Senate, drawing opposition from both moderates and hard-line conservatives. McConnell has planned for a vote on the new bill next week. The revised plan included conservative Senator Ted Cruz’s proposal to let insurers offer stripped-down, low-cost healthcare plans that do not comply with Obamacare regulations to cover certain health benefits. Those benefits include maternity and newborn care, mental health services and addiction treatment, outpatient care, hospitalization, emergency room visits and prescription drugs. Insurer groups, including the national Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, have derided these “skinny plans,” saying they would raise insurance premiums, destabilize the individual insurance market and undermine protections for pre-existing medical conditions. The legislation retai...
Source: Mass Device - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Healthcare Reform Source Type: news