U.S. Senate Republicans were expected to vote on Tuesday for opening debate on a healthcare bill without knowing what is in it, but the potential components of the legislation were clear.
Approaches hammered out by Republicans in recent months were expected to be in the mix, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell making key choices about what is in and what is out, based on how much support a given combination can attract.
One bill he could introduce would repeal much of Obamacare with no replacement plan. Another bill could repeal and replace the 2010 law while also overhauling Medicaid, the federal health insurance program for the poor and disabled.
Both bills have faced criticism from the health industry.
The Affordable Care Act, dubbed Obamacare, extended insurance to 20 million Americans and was Democratic former President Barack Obama's signature domestic achievement.
For seven years, Republicans have promised to repeal and replace it, but have struggled to do so, even though they now control both chambers of Congress and the White House.
Another path open to McConnell would be to develop an entirely new bill on the Senate floor through amendments.
Here are summaries of bills that could be in play:
"SKINNY REPEAL"
A shortened version of Obamacare repeal, called a “skinny repeal,” could end Obamacare’s individual and employer mandates and the medical device tax, said a Senate aide and a lobbyist.
Senate Republicans would likely go for a bare-minimum “skinny repeal” only if other approaches, such as those below, cannot win approval.
REPEAL ONLY
McConnell has said he could introduce a bill that Republicans passed in 2015 that was subsequently vetoed by Obama, called the Obamacare Repeal Reconciliation Act.
It would repeal most Obamacare taxes and end funding for Obamacare's Medicaid expansion, as well as tax credits that help low-income people buy health insurance on the individual insurance market. It would abolish a penalty on individuals who do not purchase insurance, as well as a penalty on certain employers who do not provide employees insurance.
But the legislation does not include a replacement plan. If signed into law, Congress would have two years to craft and pass a replacement. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated the law would increase the number of uninsured Americans by 17 million in 2018, and by 32 million in 2026.
REPEAL AND REPLACE
The Senate has spent months negotiating a bill, called the Better Care Reconciliation Act, that would repeal and replace much of Obamacare, while also drastically cutting Medicaid.
The latest version would repeal many Obamacare taxes, but retain two taxes on the wealthy. It would unwind Obamacare's Medicaid expansion over three years, then slash spending on Medicaid beginning in 2025, as well as overhaul the law's tax credits. It would also eliminate penalties on individuals for not purchasing insurance and employers who do not provide it.
The bill includes an amendment from Senator Ted Cruz that would let insurers sell bare-bones policies that fall short of broad benefits mandated under Obamacare, such as maternity and newborn care and prescription drugs.
The CBO estimated the bill would result in 22 million more people losing their insurance by 2026 and, in a separate report, estimated that Medicaid would be cut by 35 percent come 2036.
HOUSE-PASSED LEGISLATION
In May, the House of Representatives passed its own version of healthcare legislation, called the American Health Care Act.
It would repeal most Obamacare taxes, including taxes on the wealthy, replace the law's income-based tax credits with flat age-based credits capped at upper-income levels and end funding for the Medicaid expansion beginning in 2020.
Like the Senate legislation, it would eliminate the penalty on individuals who do not purchase insurance and employers who do not provide it to employees.
Controversially, the House bill would eliminate the Obamacare mandate that insurers charge sick and healthy people the same rates. The CBO found it would result in 23 million more uninsured Americans by 2026 and destabilize the individual insurance market in much of the country.
Reuters
Tue Jul 25 2017
Healthcare activists protest against the Republican healthcare bill on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 19, 2017. -Reuters
Microsoft labur AS1.7b di Indonesia untuk teknologi awan dan AI
Microsoft bakal melabur AS$1.7 bilion dalam tempoh empat tahun akan datang bagi pembangunan infrastruktur awan dan kecerdasan buatan di Indonesia, kata Ketua Pegawai Eksekutifnya Satya Nadella
Nadella sebagai berkata, pelaburan itu merupakan yang terbesar dalam sejarah 29 tahun Microsoft di negara itu.
Nadella sebagai berkata, pelaburan itu merupakan yang terbesar dalam sejarah 29 tahun Microsoft di negara itu.
Haiwan turut berisiko hadapi 'strok haba'
Gelombang haba yang melanda seluruh dunia memperlihatkan kesan jelas terhadap alam serta hidupan di muka bumi ini. Di Bangladesh misalnya, pengusaha-pengusaha kedai haiwan mencuba sedaya upaya untuk memastikan haiwan peliharaan di kedai mereka tidak mati dalam cuaca ekstrem ini.
Malaysia tewas 2-3 kepada Denmark pada aksi akhir kumpulan D
Malaysia dan Denmark masing-masing sudah pun melayakkan diri ke suku akhir selepas mencatat kemenangan 5-0 ke atas Hong Kong dan Algeria.
Fungsi JAKIM, Kementerian Perpaduan Negara berbeza - mohd na'im
Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri (Hal Ehwal Agama) Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar menegaskan fungsi Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (JAKIM) adalah berbeza dengan Kementerian Perpaduan Negara (KPN).
Sultan Nazrin dilantik pengerusi bagi tempoh dua tahun
Sultan Perak Sultan Nazrin Shah dilantik sebagai Pengerusi Majlis Kebangsaan Bagi Hal Ehwal Agama Islam Malaysia (MKI) bagi tempoh dua tahun berkuat kuasa 9 Mac 2024 hingga 8 Mac 2026.
JKN Terengganu siasat dakwaan kes keracunan makanan
Jabatan Kesihatan Negeri Terengganu sedang menyiasat dakwaan kes keracunan makanan selepas dipercayai menjamah sejenis kuih membabitkan beberapa individu termasuk kanak-kanak.
Remaja warga asing samun, menyamar pegawai polis ditahan
Polis menahan remaja lelaki pemegang kad Suruhanjaya Tinggi Pertubuhan Bangsa-bangsa Bersatu bagi Pelarian (UNHCR) kerana disyaki terbabit dengan kegiatan samun dan menyamar sebagai anggota polis.
Pesawah mengaku tidak bersalah
Seorang pesawah mengaku tidak bersalah di Mahkamah Sesyen Butterworth atas pertuduhan memuat naik mesej berbau hasutan mengaitkan Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim dengan aktiviti perjudian dalam satu kumpulan WhatsApp, lima hari lalu.
Terengganu tidak bincang cadangan hukuman sebat di khalayak - Azalina
Tiada sebarang perbincangan di antara Kerajaan Negeri Terengganu dan Kerajaan Persekutuan tentang cadangan pelaksanaan hukuman sebat bagi kesalahan syariah di khalayak atau tempat awam.
90 kes direkod di Kelantan dalam tempoh empat bulan
Polis Kelantan merekodkan 90 kes jenayah seksual di negeri itu dalam tempoh empat bulan pertama tahun ini.