In a last-gasp effort to push their Affordable Care Act repeal bill over the finish line, Republican Sens. State-level Medicaid administrators and virtually every advocacy group representing disease patients and doctors, hospitals and insurers have come out against the bill. The hearing schedule doesn’t compare with the process that led to passage of the Affordable Care Act itself — nearly 180 hearings in the Senate and House over 15 months. Protection against this so-called medical underwriting always has been one of the most popular provisions of the Affordable Care Act. The revised bill also allows states to raise or eliminate caps on out-of-pocket expenses and eviscerate the Affordable Care Act’s list of minimum required benefits, including maternity care, mental health services, hospitalization and prescription drug coverage.

Source: Los Angeles Times September 25, 2017 16:38 UTC