Finally, a glimmer of hope on health insurance
We are finally seeing a good example of bipartisan legislation.
The Alexander-Murray bill, focused on health insurance, has been approved by a Senate committee and should move to the full Senate and hopefully the House.
This bill gives all sides something: Republicans get more flexibility for states in their administration of health insurance plans; Democrats get assurance that the cost sharing reductions (CSRs) established by the Affordable Care Act will continue to help keep health insurance affordable for lower-income families; and insurance companies get predictability and stability, cornerstones of their business process.
Despite President Donald Trump’s attempts to eliminate these CSRs, and grumbling already being heard from House Republicans, this type of “across the aisle” effort is exactly the type of progress America needs to see to improve Obamacare, not destroy it.
Jerry Whalen
Bluffton
This story was originally published October 23, 2017 at 3:34 PM with the headline "Finally, a glimmer of hope on health insurance."