U.S. Senate releases their version of repeal and replace

The Senate has released a draft of the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), the Senate version of repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). A comparison with the ACA and the U.S. House’s version is here.

In response, both the Governor’s office and AHCCCS leadership prepared a comprehensive assessment of the impact on Arizona. If left as it stands, the Senate version of this bill will have a major detrimental impact on both patient eligibility and financial resources for the AHCCCS program (Arizona Medicaid).  In response, Governor Ducey sent Senators McCain and Flake five-point recommendations which he believes will help make the proposed repeal and replace bills more bearable. If not amended, the Senate bill is in direct opposition to organized medicine’s efforts to restore and expand the AHCCCS program.