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The new bill, like earlier versions, would convert Medicaid from an open-ended entitlement to a system of fixed payments to states. But in the event of a public health emergency, state Medicaid spending in a particular part of a state would not be counted toward the spending limits, known as per capita caps.
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If an insurer offered “sufficient minimum coverage†on the exchange that remains subject to federal mandates...it could also offer coverage outside the exchange that would be exempt from many of those mandates...the Republican bill would create a fund to make payments to insurers for the costs of covering high-risk people enrolled in health plans on the exchanges.
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People who enroll in catastrophic health insurance plans would be eligible for federal tax credits to help pay premiums. Such plans typically have lower premiums and high deductibles.
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The bill would, for the first time, allow people to use tax-favored health savings accounts to pay insurance premiums.
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Like the previous bill, it would end the requirement that most Americans have health coverage, and it would make deep cuts to Medicaid, capping payments to states and rolling back its expansion under the Affordable Care Act.
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In a notable change, the bill would keep the two taxes imposed by the Affordable Care Act on people with high incomes: the 3.8 percent tax on investment income and the 0.9 percent payroll tax.
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Republicans expect that an analysis of the new bill will be released by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office early next week.
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Mr. McConnell has said he intends to take up the revised bill next week...."
The new bill looks a bit more like NIxon's plan for a voluntary private system with federal backing. Compared to the OP bill, this edition would continue some of the current taxes and subsidies, buying patronage network support by continuing to monetize chronic conditions rather than cure them. Neither bill includes any money for research, as usual from Republicans, many of whom oppose science and favor faith healing. Where the previous bill might have encouraged and rewarded biotech entrepreneurs developing disruptive cures, this edition seems to maintain more of the chronic revenue models in existing legislation.
https://www.budget.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/BetterCareJuly13.2017.pdf
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Overview of the Discussion Draft of Senate Amendment to H.R. 1628
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