To help Democrats introduce thousands of amendments before the (Senatized) AHCA comes to a vote, Indivisible is inviting all of us to add our own stories to their amendment*; they'll ask our senators to make their constituents' testimonials part of the Congressional Record. Contribute here!
With Democratic senators being tasked with offering thousands of amendments, I thought I'd propose a few. Some are mutually exclusive, some would cost money, some would only work under current law, some may be unworkable. Brainstormer's licence...
Join the party! Add your own amendment in comments (and/or send to your senators). See also Charles Gaba's "If I ran the Zoo."
With Democratic senators being tasked with offering thousands of amendments, I thought I'd propose a few. Some are mutually exclusive, some would cost money, some would only work under current law, some may be unworkable. Brainstormer's licence...
- Nothing in this bill shall be construed to render anyone who was eligible for Medicaid under prior law ineligible.
- Congress shall not cap the federal contribution to Medicaid by any formula that reduces the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) in effect prior to enactment of this legislation.
- Any insurer that participates in a state's nongroup health insurance market must offer plans on the state Marketplace, in every area where it sells off-Marketplace.
- Any insurer that sells Medicare Advantage plans in a given state must offer plans on the state Marketplace.
- Any insurer that provides managed Medicaid services in a state must offer Marketplace plans in whatever rating areas wherein it provides Medicaid plans.
- No applicant eligible for subsidized Marketplace coverage by any criteria other than income [e.g., not offered affordable coverage by an employer] shall pay more than 10% of Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) for a benchmark plan in the Marketplace.
- Any applicant for family coverage in the marketplace whose employer offers no family plan for which the premium costs 10% or less of the applicant's of family income shall be eligible for Advance Premium Tax Credits if meeting all other eligibility criteria (fixing "family glitch").
- Any citizen or legally present noncitizen who lacks access to qualified health insurance costing less than 10% of household MAGI shall be eligible to buy in to Medicaid coverage on a sliding income scale to be established by the state.
- Any healthcare provider who accepts payment from Medicare must also accept payment at Medicare rates or above from any Qualified Health Plan operating in the Marketplace. Such payment shall be construed as full payment.
- All provisions of this Act, with the exception of these ten amendments and provisions establishing the Patient and State Stability Fund, shall be self-repealing upon enactment.
Join the party! Add your own amendment in comments (and/or send to your senators). See also Charles Gaba's "If I ran the Zoo."
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* I initially misunderstood (understandably, I think!) Indivisible's pitch to "add your amendment" -- it really means "add your name and testimonial to our amendment."
* I initially misunderstood (understandably, I think!) Indivisible's pitch to "add your amendment" -- it really means "add your name and testimonial to our amendment."
Well done! I really liked the items about a 10% of income cap.
ReplyDeleteI favor a cap of 8% though. If you say that the cap is 10% of gross income, that does not recognize that individuals pay premiums with after tax income. If your income is $50,000 and the cap is 10%, then your personal cap is $5000.
However, in most states your income after FICA, FUTA, and state income taxes is a lot closer to $40,000 a year.
So the $5000 premium is really about 12.5% of your income!