Earlier this week, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) announced that the Senate would delay an expected vote on the “Better Care Reconciliation Act” (BCRA) until after the July 4 congressional recess.

The BCRA would repeal and replace major portions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Senate Republicans currently appear to be a number of votes short of the 50 necessary to secure its passage. 

In many ways, the BCRA is similar to the “American Health Care Act” (AHCA), which passed in the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year.

Of note to Big “I” members, the BCRA would:

• Repeal the federal Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) and require states to come up with their own MLR starting in 2019.
• Repeal all of the ACA’s taxes except the “Cadillac” tax, which it would delay until 2026.
• Protect the employer-sponsored health care system by not changing the current tax treatment of employer-sponsored health benefits.

Big “I” members can log in to access a chart with a more detailed comparison of the BCRA, ACA and AHCA.

Wyatt Stewart is Big “I” senior director of federal government affairs.