Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

After the votes were coming up short for a repeal of the Affordable Care Act — nicknamed Obamacare — House Speaker Paul Ryan with President Trump’s approval pulled the American Health Care Act (AHCA), marking it dead in the water. But now it’s walking that message back, a New York Times article suggests.

Despite the ire of House Democrats and quite a few House Republicans that the bill cut too much, many conservatives felt the AHCA didn’t slash enough, suggesting Ryan’s plan looked a little too much like “Obamacare lite.” Those Republicans insist that the House revise and restart their take on the ACA’s replacement and are willing to wait for the repeal.

“Speaker Paul D. Ryan vowed to renew efforts to repeal the law, despite last week’s crushing setback when House Republicans tossed aside a repeal bill because they lacked the votes to pass it,” the New York Times piece said on March 28.

Congressional Democrats weren’t sure why Ryan did an about-face, but some weighed in. “I don’t know what has changed,’’ said Representative Jim McGovern, Democrat of Massachusetts in the article. “The bill went down because it was too bad for Republican moderates and not bad enough for their conservatives. I don’t know how they reconcile the divides within their own conference, never mind find any Democratic votes.”

Reports maintain that Stephen K. Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist is now involved in the process, partnering with Republican groups like the Freedom Caucus and the Tuesday Group to ensure the ACA is overturned, the New York Times notes.

With the new plan in limbo, the ACA remains the law of the land — for now.

Resource: To take a look a the New York Times article, visit https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/28/us/politics/health-care-obamacare-freedom-caucus.html?_r=0.