U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) on Monday introduced a comprehensive plan to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) with better choices for more affordable health care.
The Patient Freedom Act (PFA) would restore state control over health insurance markets, promote patient choice by eliminating ACA mandates and maintain consumer protections included in ACA.
“We have been stressing the importance of making sure we have a replacement plan ready to go with the repeal of Obamacare, in order to ensure that no one sees a gap in their health care coverage,” Cassidy said. “With the introduction of the Patient Freedom Act of 2017, I believe we now have that plan. President Trump has said that he wants to have health care coverage for all under the replacement plan. The Patient Freedom Act does this and more.”
The PFA would repeal ACA’s individual mandate, employer mandate and benefit mandates that sometimes force consumers to pay for health coverage that they don’t need or want. The plan would also eliminate actuarial value requirements that slot plans into one of four categories and age band requirements that can lead to additional costs for younger people.
“Our current health care system is under considerable stress and will collapse if Congress does not act,” Collins said. “The ACA has been in full effect for three years, yet nearly 30 million people still do not have health insurance coverage. Those who do have coverage are experiencing huge spikes in premium costs, deductibles and co-pays. Simply put, doing nothing is not an option.”
The PFA would ensure that Americans have access to affordable health care that provides choice and helps contain costs, Collins added.
“With this legislation, we are placing a specific replacement proposal on the table for our colleagues to coalesce around, debate and refine so that our efforts can move forward with no gap in coverage for those relying on the current system,” Collins said.
She added that the measure was a work in progress that is “intended to put specific proposals on the table as we seek to craft bills to repair and improve the Affordable Care Act.”
In addition to maintaining consumer protections like prohibitions on benefit limits, pre-existing condition exclusions and discrimination — PFA outlines new consumer protections. Those protections would limit out-of-network surcharges for emergency medical services paid for with an HSA. Providers would also be required to publish prices for services paid for with an HSA or with cash.
PFA would repeal Title I of ACA, and states would be given three options: reimplementation of ACA, implementation of a new state alternative, or designing an alternative solution with federal assistance.
Capito said, “There needs to be a replacement for Obamacare that provides access to affordable, quality health care, including to those West Virginians currently receiving coverage through the exchange or Medicaid expansion.”
“The Patient Freedom Act of 2017 accomplishes this by reducing Obamacare regulations that have caused health insurance premiums to skyrocket, returning authority to states, and providing more health care choices to individuals and families. It also keeps important protections such as coverage for pre-existing conditions, allowing dependent coverage through age 26, and retaining improvements to the federal Black Lung benefits program, which is especially important in West Virginia,” Capito added.
Additionally, each state would receive the same level of funding as it would have under ACA as long as 95 percent of those eligible for subsidies are enrolled. States would also receive money targeted for Medicaid expansion. States that have already expanded Medicaid could elect to keep the expansion or convert it into subsidies to help consumers purchase private insurance.