The U.S. Senate confirmed Alex Azar to head the Department of Health and Human Services, setting a permanent replacement for Tom Price four months after he was ousted amid a scandal over his travel.
For lower-income Americans, the bill carves into Medicaid, shifting poor people out of the program and into private coverage where they could face deductibles reaching thousands of dollars.
The administration doesnt provide details on where exactly the cuts would come from, citing 'consolidations and structural changes' as well as cutting administrative costs and a 'rebalance' of government funding for research.
The bill would cut taxes to the tune of about $575 billion over a decade, mainly on the wealthy and health-insurance companies. It would limit money channeled to low-income people, raise costs for older Americans and wind down the expansion of Medicaid.
The American Medical Association and the American Hospital Association have both said they cannot support the American Health Care Act in its current form.
President Trump took to Twitter to tout the new plan: 'Our wonderful new Healthcare Bill is now out for review and negotiation. ObamaCare is a complete and total disaster - is imploding fast!'
Some proposals to replace the ACA would result in 'forever restructuring the Medicaid program to cut expansion and cap who receives benefits,' said Andy Slavitt, the former head of the CMS.