The American Health Care Act (AHCA) published by the US House of Representatives aimed at repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act— also known as the Obamacare. However, the AHCA bill faced profound uncertainty from the Senate, which then led to the Senate Republicans creating and introducing their version of the bill—“The Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017” (BCRA).

Here’s a quick overview of the major changes proposed in the BCRA’s discussion draft:

ü Repeals ACA Mandates

The Better Care Reconciliation Act, repeals both individual and employer mandates under Obamacare that were effective from 1st January 2016. In other words, BCRA aims to free the people of the United States of America from the difficult mandates of Obamacare that required them to buy healthcare insurance that they didn’t want or couldn’t afford.

ü Modifies Premium Tax Credits

The Senate bill defrays the insurance cost through targeted tax credits where refundable and advanceable credits will be adjusted for age, income and geography. This modification aims at ensuring that those who need monetary assistance can easily afford and purchase a healthcare plan.

ü Repeals ACA Taxes

It focuses on repealing the costly taxes under ACA that increase premiums and simultaneously hurt life-saving healthcare innovations such as prescription drug taxes, health insurance taxes, and even high-cost employer sponsored plans.

ü Strengthens Medicaid  

One of the many significant changes to Obamacare proposed by BCRA is repealing the Medicaid expansion. The bill does this by replacing it with certain tax credits so that buying coverage is affordable for people in the US with low income. Also, it gives more flexibility to the states by giving them the option to choose between per capita allotments or block grants for Medicaid population. Furthermore, it allows the states to levy work requirements on non-disabled, non-pregnant, and non-elderly people who are receiving Medicaid as well as re-determine eligibility frequently.

ü Allows People to Pay Premiums through HAS

Another provision proposed in this bill is that it allows people of the United States to use their Health Savings Accounts to pay their premiums. It is believed that this policy will help increase healthcare coverage and provide financial assistance to individuals to pay for their healthcare cost smoothly and efficiently.

For more information on BCRA or how it will impact employers in the US, get in touch with us today. Call us on (877) 355-6070 or email us at info@jsbenefitsgroup.com. Our team of friendly and experienced benefits experts will provide you all the information and assistance that you need.