Like President Trump realized earlier this year, healthcare is complicated. Between reconciliation, the Byrd rule, Title I regulations and risk pools, there’s a lot to keep track of in this year’s healthcare reform debate.
Check out the resources below for some guideposts.
On the Senate’s bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017
- Healthcare expert Chris Jacobs (@chrisjacobsHC) summarizes the Senate’s latest draft.
- Also don’t miss Jacobs’ piece calling out the bill’s backroom deals. This is sausage making, after all.
- Does the BCRA actually repeal Obamacare? Cato’s Michael Cannon (@mfcannon) says the answer is a big fat nope.
On the Senate process and procedures
- What the heck is reconciliation? For a quick explainer, check out this piece from former Heritage staffer, Brian Darling (@BrianHDarling).
- The ghost of Bobby Byrd still haunts the Senate. Everything you need to know about the Byrd rule – and its impact on the Obamacare repeal – is outlined by procedural wizard James Wallner (@jiwallner).
Why did the BCRA fail?
- Though Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) made a valiant effort to improve the bill by allowing states to create a free market option for insurance, the actual text included in the final legislation didn’t accomplish that goal.
- In the end, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell simply didn’t have the votes of his conference.
So what’s next? There’s that “2015 bill” that everyone keeps talking about.
- Get the background on the 2015 bill from former Heritage staffer, and current Senate staffer, Alyene Senger (@alyenesenger)
- Also see the vote tally from the the December 2015 vote which was the Senate’s last attempt to pass Obamacare repeal via reconciliation (which President Obama subsequently vetoed).
- What outside groups are supporting passage of the 2015 bill? The Club for Growth (keyvoting), FreedomWorks (keyvoting), Heritage Action, March for Life Action (keyvoting)
But will the 2015 bill actually pass?
- That still remains unclear, especially now that key moderate Senators have said they will oppose the motion to proceed to it.
- AEI’s Marc Thiessen (@marcthiessen) speculates that bringing up the 2015 bill is actually Senator McConnell’s last ditch effort to revive the BCRA.