Top Republicans added billions of extra dollars and eased coverage requirements to their effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, as party leaders labored this morning to stave off defeat in a Senate showdown this week.
The updated measure would add $14.5 billion and mean added funds for states including Alaska, Arizona, Kentucky, Maine and Texas. All are home to dissident senators whose support leaders need to push the measure through the narrowly divided Senate.
The revamped proposal gives states more freedom to charge higher premiums for older and seriously ill people and to sell skimpy, lower-cost policies. The initial version, by GOP Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham, required federal approval for such action.
It would also let states raise limits the ACA has placed on consumers’ out-of-pocket costs. Such changes might appeal to conservative Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who said Sunday he didn’t support the measure and said it needed added steps to drive down premiums.
