Following the release of a bipartisan health care fix drafted by leaders of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), the more staunchly conservative wings of the Senate and House – led by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Congressman Kevin Brady (R-TX) – have released their own competing proposal to shape the future of U.S. health care.
Similar to the bipartisan bill written by Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Patty Murray (D-WA), the Hatch-Brady proposal would reinstitute cost-saving reduction (CSR) subsidies to private insurers until 2019. However, the bill includes common legislative proposals typically found on the agendas of conservatives, such as ending the individual insurance mandate instituted under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), refunding penalties for companies that did not comply with the employer insurance mandate between 2015 and 2017, and providing a framework to restrict access to abortions.
Like other recent attempts by conservatives to patch or topple the ACA, the bill may not have enough votes to pass in both chambers. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has indicated that he does not expect the health care battle to restart until 2018.
