On June 22, the U.S. Senate issued the , a substitute to the House-passed American Health Care Act (AHCA), which would repeal and replace several provisions of the Affordable Care Act. The Senate bill was slated for a vote this week; however, on June 27 Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) delayed the vote until after the July 4 recess due to a lack of support for passage. 

The of the Better Care Reconciliation Act shares several provisions with the AHCA, some of which ÀÏÅ£Ó°ÊÓsupported, including:

• Zeroing out the employer and individual mandate penalties 
• Repealing an additional Medicare tax of 0.9 percent of wages, compensation and self-employment income 
• Repealing the medical device tax
• Repealing the health insurance providers fee or  
• Increasing the maximum contribution limit on health savings accounts (HSA) 
• Repealing the restriction on over-the-counter medications for FSAs and HSAs 

On June 26, the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation issued a that estimates the enactment of the Senate health care bill would reduce the federal deficit by $321 billion over the period of 2017 to 2026 as well as increase by 22 million in 2026 the number of uninsured compared to current law.

ÀÏÅ£Ó°ÊÓwill continue to provide updates in Newsline on the status of the Better Care Reconciliation Act and other health care issues that impact ÀÏÅ£Ó°ÊÓmembers.