A Shimmer of Bipartisan Hope for Healthcare Reform

It’s been quite the roller coaster ride on capitol hill as republicans in the senate have attempted several times to carry out some version of healthcare reform. We’ve seen a number of repeal and replace plans, a straight repeal plan and a “skinny” repeal plan all come and go, then come and go again.

From all of this, a coalition of around 40 House Republicans and Democrats released a proposal on healthcare reform. This bipartisan coalition, known as the Problem Solvers Caucus, is led by Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) and Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.)

Forefront in this new plan are ways to stabilize the insurance markets, primarily by funding the cost-sharing subsidies that have been under threat this last week. Other changes seem to provide some sort of relief as they look to increase the employer mandate requirements from 50 employees to 500 employees and terminated the medical device tax. Additionally, this plan calls for a sort of federal reinsurance plan to support the states as they encounter unexpected cost spikes for extremely expensive medical needs and more flexibility and guidance for states as they seek waivers from coverage rules.

Many on both sides of the aisle have been calling for some sort of collaboration between the parties. It will be interesting to see if this bipartisan work continues to gain traction in the House and if it can be replicated in the Senate.