Repeal and Replacement Efforts Still Under Discussion

House Republicans continue to strategize on ways to revive the American Health Care Act (AHCA) which came to a sudden halt two weeks ago due to a lack of votes. This week, Republicans participated in two all-day sessions with Administration officials in hopes of finding a pathway forward. One amendment did emerge this week to create a ‘Federal Invisible Risk Sharing Program’, which would appropriate $15 billion per year beginning in January 1, 2018, until 2026. The funding would provide payments to insurers for eligible individuals to lower premiums. The amendment lacked details on how the program would be carried out and instead delegates that task to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to complete within 60 days of enactment. However, the amendment doesn’t seem to address the adverse impacts of the AHCA, including the millions of individuals that would lose coverage.

No action was taken prior to the start of their spring recess.