Before going into detail of the current status of Healthcare reform, here’s the details you need to know from the past few months:

•      The House passed the American Health Care Act (AHCA) in May.

•      The Senate introduced the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) in late June.

•      Vice President Pence cast the tie-breaking vote to move forward on healthcare  reform on July 25, 2017

Now jump forward to this past week.  The Senate’s movement to repeal and replace Obamacare came to an abrupt end on the morning of July 28, 2017 when all 48 Democrats and 3 Republicans voted against the Senate’s “skinny” repeal bill on the morning of July 28.

The “skinny” repeal would have repealed the individual and employer mandates, temporarily repealed the medical device tax and provided more flexibility to the states to allow insurance that does not comply with Obamacare.

On the day of the vote, the Congressional Budget Office reported that the “skinny” bill would result in 15 million more people being uninsured next year than under Obamacare, with 16 million more in 2026 and that premiums would jump 20% next year.

So as for now, the Affordable Care Act isn’t budging. This does not mean that the movement towards repealing and replacing the ACA has ended. Senator McCain has already called a return to the committee process where they will hold hearings, allowing input from both sides and produce a bill that will truly deliver affordable health care.  

Although the future of healthcare is uncertain, Cosmo Insurance Agency will always be here to give you creative solutions and offer you all your health insurance needs.