Only one thing is certain for insurance shoppers if the latest attempt to replace former President Barack Obama’s health care law succeeds: Uncertainty.
Will you be able to get coverage? How much will it cost? Will it cover my conditions?
It depends.
The proposal, sponsored by Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, would shift funding and key coverage decisions for both private insurers and Medicaid to states instead of the federal government. That means the availability and price of coverage could vary dramatically from state to state.
The measure is the subject of hot debate in Washington, and senators may vote on it later this week, but its prospects are shaky. Republicans released a revised version Monday morning in hopes of convincing a few crucial holdouts. If three Republican senators oppose the bill, it will die. Arizona’s John McCain and Kentucky’s Rand Paul say they will not support the bill, and Texas’s Ted Cruz and Maine’s Susan Collins have said they would either oppose it or are leaning that way.