Ten Senate Republicans have introduced a bill designed to guarantee protections for patients with pre-existing conditions in the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The move is in response to a lawsuit brought by 20 States that are seeking to invalidate the law since Congress effectively ended the “individual mandate” that requires most Americans to have health insurance coverage or pay a fine. The U.S. Department of Justice has declined to defend the ACA in court and has called provisions of that prohibit discrimination based on pre-existing conditions unconstitutional.
Oral arguments in Texas v. United States began in early September.
The Republican bill was introduced on August 24 by Senators Thom Tillis (NC), Lamar Alexander (TN), Charles Grassley (IA), Dean Heller (NV), Bill Cassidy (LA), Lisa Murkowsky (AK), Joni Ernst (IA), Lindsay Graham (SC), John Barasso (WY), and Roger Wicker (MS). Senator Tillis stated:
“There are strong opinions on both sides when it comes to how we should overhaul our Nation’s broken health care system, but the one thing we can all agree on is that we should protect health care for Americans with pre-existing conditions and ensure they have access to good coverage.”
Democrats say the measure does not go far enough in protecting such patients because insurers could still refuse to cover certain services or prescription drugs for those with pre-existing conditions. Senator Patty Murray (WA-D) issued a statement saying:
“If Republicans are serious about protecting health care for millions of families, they should join Democrats to defend patients’ protections already in place and work with us on solutions that actually drive down costs for families and prevent health care discrimination.”
The Republican bill — S. 3388, Ensuring Coverage for Patients with Pre-Existing Conditions Act — has been referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
For background, see the March 2016 issue of Congressional Digest titled, “Obamacare Update,” and the May 2012 issue of Supreme Court Debates on “Heath Care Reform.”
