Revised Draft of the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017

A revised draft of the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 (BCRA), an amended version of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) that passed the House of Representatives in May, was released yesterday.

The revised draft is still concerning to those with rare diseases. The draft permits insurers to offer plans that are not compliant with current patient protections, opening the possibility for discrimination against patients with preexisting conditions, who may in turn lose access to quality and affordable coverage.

The draft BCRA still shows Federal funding cuts to Medicaid by establishing caps and optional block grants. In turn, states may cut eligibility, coverage, and services in order to compensate. Additionally, this draft would still phase out Medicaid expansion, potentially leaving many rare disease patients without healthcare insurance.

Please continue to let your Senators know your concerns about the BCRA draft, and encourage them to reject the draft as it is currently written.

>  Read more about the concerns of the BCRA for the rare patient community