Last fall, Dem Senator Patty Murray and GOP Senator Lamar Alexander (among the few Republican Senators actually interested in improving the ACA) got together and hammered out a deal called Alexander-Murray. At the time, the bill would have done the following:
Two years of subsidy funding, along with funding for the rest of 2017. There will also likely be additional steps to help enrollees with their premiums in 2018.
A "copper plan" for people older than 30, which would be less comprehensive than other ACA plans but would have a lower premium.
$106 million in enrollment outreach funding in 2018 and 2019.
Shorter review time for states seeking waivers from some of the ACA's coverage requirements. It's unclear what other waiver changes have been agreed to at this time.
Authorization for funding to help states launch reinsurance programs, which would defray the costs of covering the sickest consumers.
Of these five items, it's really the first two which would have the biggest impact: CSR reimbursement payments and a low-end "Copper Plan".
So @SenatorCollins sold out for bills which won’t help much and aren’t gonna happen anyway.@jeffflake sold out for a promise to attend a meeting which won’t happen.@lisamurkowski sold out for destroying her own environment.@SenJohnMcCain sold out for...nothing at all. Huh.
Collins' bill with Nelson would set aside $4.5 billion over two years to help states establish reinsurance programs. Reinsurance directly compensates insurance carriers for their most expensive customers.
To the best of my knowledge, that's...pretty much all it does: $2.25 billion per year for two years, and then...that's it. If there's more to the bill than that, I'll revise this post, but in the meantime, that seems to be the whole bill.
