ACA Repeal Votes Defy Preferences Of Constituents

Despite repeatedly failing to advance legislation through the Senate, Republicans in Congress have not abandoned their goal of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The latest attempt at repeal in the form of the Graham-Cassidy bill would have established a per capita cap on federal Medicaid financing, eliminated the individual mandate, and undermined protections for older adults and people with preexisting conditions, by allowing states to opt out of key ACA insurance regulations. It would also have eliminated funding for the ACA’s Marketplace premium and cost-sharing subsidies and Medicaid expansion, and redirected some of that funding toward block grants to states. One puzzling aspect of this and previous repeal efforts is that they nearly succeeded in spite of widespread public support for the core elements of the ACA that would have been overturned. Although almost 80 percent of nonelderly adults favor keeping the Medicaid expansion and nearly 70 percent favor keeping the premium subsidies, previous legislation eliminating or weakening these provisions passed the House by a vote of 217–213 (with House votes by district shown in Exhibit 1) and fell just a few votes short of passing the Senate. ACA protections for people with preexisting conditions—including guaranteed issue, community rating, and essential health benefits—are even more popular, eliciting support of 80 percent to 90 percent of nonelderly adults, and age rating limits ar...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Featured Following the ACA ACA repeal and replace. health care legislation Affordable Care Act health care access health care affordability Source Type: blogs