Update on Health Care/Medicaid votes in the U.S. Senate

From the national ARC news letter, Capitol Hill Insider for the week of July 24th, 2017:

Health Care/Medicaid - Senate Vote on Health Care Repeal Planned for This Week

The Senate continues to try and move forward on a plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). On July 17, plans to repeal the ACA and cap Medicaid were put on hold when four Republican Senators announced their intent to vote "no" on a motion to begin debate. The next morning, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced that there would be a vote on Obamacare Repeal Reconciliation Act (ORRA), which does not include Medicaid per capita caps, but does repeal Medicaid expansion, the increased federal match for the Community First Choice option, the individual and employer mandates, the premium tax credits, and a number of other provisions. The bill would not take effect for two years, giving Congress time to develop a replacement. However, it is unclear whether insurers will continue to participate in the market when the long-term framework is unknown. Within hours of this announcement, three Republican Senators announced their opposition to voting to repeal and delay replacement with a new plan.

Senate Majority Leader McConnell then announced that there will be a vote on a motion to begin debate early this week. It is unclear whether the vote will be on the ORRA or a revised Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA). The Senate is also considering revising BCRA to includes $200 billion in non-Medicaid funds for expansion states in an effort to win support from Senators from the Medicaid expansion states. The Congressional Budget Office has evaluated the ORRA and BCRA and found that they will increase the number of uninsured Americans by 32 million and 22 million, respectively.

To further complicate the situation, the Senate Parliamentarian, who must review provisions to make sure they comply with the Senate rules, has found that several provisions could be challenged and would require 60 votes to keep them in the bill. The provisions include a prohibition of Planned Parenthood funding, ending the essential health benefits requirement in Medicaid, continuing funding for cost sharing subsidies, allowing states to change the requirement that plans spend at least 80% of premium income on health care, and the six- month waiting period prior to enrollment without continuous coverage. The Parliamentarian continues to review the bill and may issue additional findings. It is unclear if the Senate has the votes to pass any legislation at this point, but the leadership is expected to keep working to try and find agreement on repealing the ACA.