Senate Parliamentarian Rules Several BCRA Provisions Violate The Byrd Rule

Democrats are reporting that on July 21, 2017, the Senate Parliamentarian ruled that a number of provisions of the Republican Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) violate the Byrd Rule, and thus cannot be passed by the Senate using the reconciliation act procedure through which Congress has been trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Byrd Rule requires, among other things, that a provision adopted through a reconciliation act affect the revenues or outlays of the United States in a manner than it not merely incidental to another purpose. A provision that the Parliamentarian rules to be impermissible under the Byrd rule is subject to a point of order, which can only be overruled, according to tradition, by a 60-vote majority. The provisions that the Parliamentarian ruled may be stricken if raised by a point of order include: The provision defunding Planned Parenthood; The provisions prohibiting the use of small business tax credits and individual market premium tax credits to pay for health plans that cover abortions; The sunset of an essential health benefit coverage requirement for Medicaid plans; The section funding cost-sharing reductions, which the Parliamentarian ruled was redundant of current law, which already funds them; The six-month waiting period for individuals who have not maintained continuous coverage; The provision sunsetting the federal medical loss ratio requirement and allowing states to set the medical loss ratio; A provision, that has been ...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Following the ACA Insurance and Coverage ACA repeal and replace BCRA byrd rule Source Type: blogs