May 4, 2017

Upton health care amendment aims to reduce costs for sick people

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The House has released the text of Rep. Fred Upton's amendment to the House bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. It provides $8 billion over five years to provide "assistance to reduce premiums or other out-of-pocket costs" for people with pre-existing conditions who would be charged higher premiums in states that get waivers from ACA pricing rules.

Between the lines: This is the amendment that's supposed to ease the concerns of Upton and other Republicans that the GOP bill would undermine protections for pre-existing conditions, though there's a lot of debate about whether $8 billion is enough money to do that.

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