Gallagher Student Health and Special Risk

On May 4, 2017, the United States House of Representatives narrowly passed the American Health Care Act ("AHCA"), a bill that seeks to repeal and replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("PPACA"). The AHCA is now before the Senate where Republicans hold a 52-48 majority. Since the bill was introduced through the budget reconciliation process it will require only 50 Senate votes to move forward (in case of a tie, Vice President Pence will cast the deciding vote). However, as the bill moves forward, it is important to remember that because Republicans are using the budget reconciliation process to advance the legislation, they are limited with respect to what they can include within the bill. In general, reconciliation rules prohibit the Senate from considering issues that do not impact the federal budget. As such, some provisions in the AHCA that do not impact the federal budget, such as broad policy based changes, will likely be excluded from the Senate bill. Although the timeline for moving forward is unclear, changes to the AHCA are likely. To help employers understand which PPACA provisions may be impacted by the AHCA, we have compiled a list of significant PPACA provisions and examine how the AHCA, as it is currently written, impacts those provisions.

The compliance experts and consultants of Gallagher's Health & Welfare Consulting team will continue to monitor developments on healthcare reform legislation and regulation and will provide you with relevant updated information as it becomes available. In the interim, please contact your Gallagher representative with any questions that you may have.