Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., agreed Tuesday on a two-year plan to stabilize the ACA exchanges and provide states more flexibility.
The bipartisan plan, which has been in the works for a few months, would fund the ACA's cost-sharing reduction payments for two more years, according to Politico. President Donald Trump last week ended CSR payments, which help offset the cost of providing health insurance to low-income Americans on the exchanges. Many healthcare organizations voiced concerns about premiums skyrocketing and patients losing coverage without the CSRs. Mr. Alexander and Ms. Murray's plan would also allow states to use ACA waivers to approve insurance plans if they are comparable in affordability to plans available on the exchanges, according to Politico.
Mr. Alexander and Ms. Murray's short-term plan also garnered initial support from President Trump, according to The New York Times. In a White House Rose Garden press conference, he said the solution would "get us over this intermediate hump," paving the way for a long-term solution including block grants for states, according to the report.
Mr. Alexander and Ms. Murray now plan to brief the Senate on details and drum up co-sponsor support. "We are ironing out a few of the last details right now, but I am very optimistic that we will be able to make an announcement with all the details very soon," Ms. Murray said in a video clip posted to Twitter.
This post will be updated when official details are made public.
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