Commonwealth Fund: Why the Graham-Cassidy Repeal Bill Is Unworkable
As Republicans rush toward a precipitous vote on the Graham-Cassidy repeal-and-replace bill by Friday, one issue needs a lot more attention: even last night’s version of the bill won’t work.
Graham-Cassidy would, as of 2020, take the funds currently being spent by the federal government on the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) premium tax credits, cost-sharing reductions, and Medicaid expansions and turn the money over to the states in block grants. By 2026, the bill would dramatically reallocate funding from states that expanded Medicaid coverage for their residents under the ACA to those that have not, while capping the overall rate of spending growth below currently projected levels. But the central concept of the legislation is to dump health care reform on the states. . .