We head into the last week of July with the Findings of the Senate Parliamentarian in hand, who ruled late Friday that several provisions in the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) released on June 26th would be subject to the 60-vote Byrd rule requirement. The Byrd rule prohibits provisions from being considered under reconciliation that do not directly affect federal revenue and spending. Among the provisions that will be subject to the Byrd rule: defunding Planned Parenthood, abortion restrictions for tax credits, repeal of essential health benefits requirements, funding for cost-sharing reduction subsidies, continuous coverage provisions, medical loss ratio requirements, availability of rollover funds, HCBS waiver provisions, reporting of CMS-64 data, and Medicaid coordination with states requirements. Also of note, the so-called “Buffalo Buyout” which was included in the House bill to win over upstate New York Republicans would also be subject to the Byrd rule. The Parliamentarian did not however evaluate the Cruz amendment, which is crucial to the process moving forward as it currently stands.
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