Senate Releases Draft Health Care Bill
UPDATE – Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Yesterday the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released their cost estimate which indicated that they expect the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) to reduce the deficit by $321 Billion over 10 years. The CBO also estimates that under the BCRA 22 million more people would be uninsured in 2026 compared to the current law. Click here to read the full CBO report.
Additionally, the Senate updated the draft bill yesterday to fill the gap due to the repeal of the individual mandate. They added language that would require an individual who had more than a 63-day gap in coverage to complete a six-month waiting period before their coverage would be reinstated.
Regarding the timing of an expected vote on tbe bill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced earlier this afternoon that they would delay the vote and continue the discussion around the bill until after the July 4th recess. McConnell had stated previously that the goal was to vote on the bill before the end of this week.
On Thursday, June 22, the Senate released a “Discussion Draft” of the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA). Click here to view the draft. At this point, the bill is still open for amendments and awaiting a CBO score at the beginning of next week. This means that the contents of the existing draft bill will most likely change prior to an expected vote before the Senate leaves for the July 4th recess next week.