Healthcare: What comes next after failed repeal and replace bill?

August 8, 2017

Leona Rajaee

Healthcare: What comes next after failed repeal and replace bill? August 8, 2017

On July 27, 2017, the much-debated replacement for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was dealt its final blow. Technically, the end came in the wee hours of July 28, when Arizona Senator John McCain cast a surprising and definitive vote against the proposed replacement bill. What comes next?

The proposed replacement bill was essentially the work of the Republican party, primarily in the Senate. Now that the bill has been voted down for the last time, after months of revisions and multiple rounds of voting, attention is moving to a bipartisan effort of roughly 40 House Republicans and Democrats who want to focus on fixes, rather than replacement, for the ACA.

The Problem Solvers Caucus is being led by Co-chairs Republican Rep. Tom Reed of New York and Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat from New Jersey. Reed stated that the coalition actually formed at the end of 2016, organizing officially with bylaws as a voting bloc in Congress. The group said “enough is enough … now we’re taking a position on the health care bill to move it forward for the American people.”

Going forward, the members of the Caucus plan to work together to improve the healthcare plan, reducing premiums for consumers and stabilizing the system. No timeline has been set yet for the plan developed by the Problem Solvers Caucus.

Elation Health is dedicated to helping our clients understand the ramifications of any healthcare bill that may be proposed and/or passed. We will continue to monitor the situation regarding the Problem Solvers Caucus and changes to the ACA.

At Elation, our philosophy has always been about bridging the enormous chasm between the world of policy and payers, and the world of the front-line physician. As such, we developed our electronic health record (EHR) solutions to help ease the administrative burden for independent physicians who are focused on the quality of the healthcare they provide to their patients.