U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy and Susan Collins of Maine, today proposed a partial replacement for the Affordable Care Act that would allow states to continue operating under the law if they choose, The New York Times reports.
The proposal is meant to appeal to critics and supporters of former President Barack Obama’s signature health law. Under the proposal, states could stay with the Affordable Care Act or they could receive a similar amount of federal money, which consumers could use to pay for medical care and health insurance.
“We are moving the locus of repeal to state government,” says Cassidy, a medical doctor from Louisiana. “States should have the right to choose.”
The Cassidy-Collins bill, called the Patient Freedom Act, would eliminate not only the unpopular individual mandate, but also the federal requirement for larger employers to offer coverage to full-time employees.
The proposal shares some features with House Republican proposals: It would encourage greater use of health savings accounts and eliminate the requirement for most Americans to have insurance or pay a tax penalty. But its option to keep the Affordable Care Act alive in many states will rankle the most conservative Republicans who have been trying for nearly seven years to undo the law.
