The new Senate bill's major provisions

[stpioc]

Republicans in the Senate are set to release an update of their healthcare bill as they work to find a way to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. One attempt to attract conservative holdouts to the new version of the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) could be the addition of a Consumer Freedom provision, introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz and supported by fellow Republican Sen. Mike Lee.

But the plan drew backlash Wednesday from an influential group of insurers, who worried potential effects of such a provision on people with preexisting conditions. The amendment would allow insurers to provide plans that do not comply with two major regulations of Obamacare: community rating and essential health benefits. Cruz and Lee have pushed it as a way to bring down premiums and open up choice in the individual market.

But an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health policy think tank, said the amendment could cause the cost of plans that complied with those regulations to skyrocket as only those that were sick and needed the more generous coverage would buy them.

Ted Cruz amendment to health care bill could affect preexisting conditions - Business Insider