To Our Valued Stakeholders,

We are continuing to watch closely the debate in the Senate over the Republican-backed alternative to the Affordable Care Act. The decision not to put the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) up for a vote this week, as earlier promised, does not mean the measure is dead. A revised version of the bill is expected to go to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) for scoring while Congress is on its July 4 recess.

The CBO score released Monday said the measure would cause 22 million people to lose health insurance coverage, setting off vocal protests and stalling the bill’s progress. The biggest losses in coverage would be in Medicaid recipients but the bill would also bring an increase in net premiums to many Marketplace customers, demonstrated at the county level in this interactive map produced by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

In Recent News

For our customers, proposed changes to financial assistance would hit hardest in rural counties, according to a recent report on Colorado by the National Academy for State Health Policy, which was reported in The Denver Post.

A group of 40 economists —six of whom are Nobel prize winners —publicly opposed the Senate bill in a letter to leadership urging legislation that would work to improve the care delivery system and make improvements to the existing law, rather than repeal it. The letter was first reported by Vox.com.

It’s been a long week for all of us. I hope you all can find time to enjoy your family and friends over the July 4 holiday.

Take care,

Kevin

Kevin Patterson, MURP, MPA
Chief Executive Officer
Connect for Health Colorado