On June 22, the Senate unveiled its counterpart to the House of Representatives’ American Health Care Act (AHCA) — the Better Reconciliation Act (BCRA) — and Republican leaders have reportedly indicated a desire to vote on the bill before the July 4 recess. While it’s unclear if the bill has the political support to pass through the Senate as currently written, it’s important for health care stakeholders to get educated on the policy proposals contained in the current text. To assist in this process, we have updated our chart providing a comparative analysis of the BCRA, the AHCA and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that highlights each bill’s treatment of a number of core issues, including insurance subsidies, individual and employer mandates, essential health benefits and Medicaid expansion.

The chart evaluates the following key issues:

• Insurance subsidies
• Individual mandate
• Employer mandate
• Young adults
• Essential health benefits
• Prohibition on annual and lifetime limits
• Age-rated limit
• Health status premium underwriting
• Preexisting condition coverage
• Relief for high-risk individuals
• Medicaid expansion
• Traditional Medicaid
• Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
• Tax provisions