In May, two Republicans, Representative Pete Sessions and Senator Bill Cassidy, released an ACA-overhaul bill proposal for “the Healthcare Accessibility, Empowerment and Liberty Act of 2016.” Like the June release of Paul Ryan’s “A Better Way” proposal, there is much skepticism about the feasibility of these healthcare bills moving forward. Sen. Cassidy took last week’s Health Agents for America meeting as a chance to argue that there is hope that his ACA-overhaul bill could survive the Senate floor, stressing increased consumer costs, dwindling individual coverage issuers, and the fact that the ACA-alternative would increase state authority and decision-making ability.
Both of the aforementioned bills propose the passage of legislation meant to dismantle the ACA, but also propose to retain some of the ACA’s more popular consumer protection provisions (e.g., preexisting condition protections and coverage of adult children through age 26). Perhaps the most compelling reason that these bills could move forward is that both of them look to delegate greater authority to states, especially on Medicaid and Medicare issues, which may help sway Democratic states.
