Members of Congress could end up keeping Affordable Care Act spending levels, including the current curb on ACA risk corridors program spending, about the same.
The federal government's fiscal year starts Oct. 1.
Members of the House are now debating H.R. 3354, the "Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act, 2018," bill. That bill would set federal spending levels for many federal departments, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, for 2018.
The version of H.R. 3354 now on the House floor appears to include a provision, Section 527, that would block any federal spending on implementing or enforcing the Affordable Care Act.
The full Senate Appropriations Committee marked up its own version of that bill, the "FY 2018 Labor, HHS & Education Appropriations Bill." Committee members approved their version of the bill by a 29-2 vote.
The committee's Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee approved a version of the bill Wednesday.
The Senate version does not appear to have a bill number, and the Senate Appropriations Committee did not seem to have posted the full text of its version.
The Republican leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee said in a statement that their version of the appropriations bill would keep the current federal rule that requires the ACA risk corridors program to rely solely on payments from thriving ACA exchange plan issuers to cover program costs.
