Sept. 25 ended up being a rough day for supporters of the Graham-Cassidy legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), beginning with the bill’s only scheduled hearing being interrupted by protesters shouting, “No cuts to Medicaid, save our liberty.”

The namesakes of the Graham-Cassidy bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) argued the law is “broken” in a CNN healthcare debate, with Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, arguing members of Congress should be focusing on short-term fixes discussed by both parties and leave larger overhauls for later.  

Multiple risk pools and extra money aimed at states represented by Republican swing votes are among the changes made in a new version of the Graham-Cassidy bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to be released less than five days before a deadline to pass it with a simple majority in the U.S. Senate.

The last time Senate Republicans tried to move forward on repealing the Affordable Care Act, it was Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, who sunk the effort with a dramatic thumbs down. He may have done so again with the latest repeal plan, the Graham-Cassidy bill, announcing Sept. 22 he “cannot in good conscience vote” for the proposal.

Adding to opposition already expressed by physician and hospital groups, America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) came out against the Graham-Cassidy legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

CMS Administrator Seema Verma, MPH, said the Trump administration will take the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) in a “new direction,” claiming the policies under the last administration encouraged consolidation and providers need more “freedom” to design new care delivery models.

Once thought to be the policy equivalent of a Hail Mary pass, the plan to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) known as the Graham-Cassidy bill appears to have gained momentum—and with it, extra attention from healthcare industry groups like the American Medical Association (AMA) that have opposed Republicans’ so-far unsuccessful efforts to repeal the law.

Amid attempts to agree on short-term stabilization of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Democrats coming out in support for a “Medicare-for-all” bill, a group of Republican senators unveiled what could be their last chance to repeal and replace the ACA.