Last month, Republican efforts to revise parts of the Affordable Care Act seemed to fail, as the American Health Care Act was withdrawn due to lack of sufficient support. Now that President Trump’s long-promised healthcare reform policy has faltered, you might be wondering what is coming next.\r
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The ACA stands for now. Without reform or replacement, all parts of the Affordable Care Act remain law. At the moment your health insurance plan is expected to remain unchanged.\r
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The debate is far from over. Even though the AHCA failed as a whole, Republican lawmakers still express concern over various aspects of the nation’s healthcare. It is likely they will continue to pursue action in some, or all, of the following areas:\r

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• Regulatory relief – to help stabilize the individual marketplace

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• Regulatory non-enforcement – certain aspects of the ACA, which are heavily criticized (such as the Individual Mandate), might not be enforced by the current Administration

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• Tax Reform – President Trump and other Republican lawmakers have stated that tax reform is their next high-priority issue. It is possible that some of the tax regulations associated with the ACA could be changed or repealed

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• Piecemeal legislation – the AHCA failed primarily because a majority of Congressional representatives could not agree on its various components. But we could see individual reforms pass through the House and Senate one at a time

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• Increased power to the states – the Administration might defer certain reform issues to the states, to be decided individually as they see fit

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Also keep an eye on these issues. At this time of year, insurers begin to submit their healthcare plans for review, to determine whether they will participate in the healthcare Marketplace in 2018. With the ACA standing for now, insurers will be required to comply with current regulations, as they have for the past several years.\r
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We’ll keep you updated on any changes to healthcare on a nationwide or statewide level. For now, we anticipate the possibility for small changes throughout the year, but for now your healthcare plan is expected to remain mostly the same for 2018.