US Senate debate on ACA repeal continues – outcome unclear

The rollercoaster effort by Republicans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) took yet another dramatic turn. As we send this out, the Senate had already voted down two versions of the bill: 1) the Better Care Reconciliation Act that leaders have been crafting for weeks; and 2) straight-up repeal of the ACA with no replacement. The Senate is expected to next consider a so called “skinny” reform that primarily removes a few unpopular portions of the ACA’s commercial insurance market reforms, such as the individual and employer mandates. Additional amendments will be considered prior to a final vote which could come Thursday or Friday. Should any bill be adopted by the Senate, it would need to return to the House for either an immediate vote as is or a more time-intensive conference process that attempts to reconcile differences between each chamber’s version of the legislation. WSHA will prepare and distribute a bill analysis and member advocacy materials if the Senate passes a bill. More to come soon. (Chelene Whiteaker, chelenew@wsha.org)