A group of Democratic and Republican governors just released a plan to fix Obamacare

pulse

August 31, 2017 4:32 PM

Govs. John Kasich, John Hickenlooper, Brian Sandoval, and five others have a plan to fix Obamacare.

Eight US governors on Thursday unveiled a plan to fix the Affordable Care Act, the law also known as Obamacare.

A letter from two Republican governors — John Kasich of Ohio and Brian Sandoval of Nevada — five Democrats, and one independent urged congressional leaders to do everything in their power to help the people on the individual insurance exchanges created by the law and to stabilize the program.

"As Congress considers reforms to strengthen our nation's health insurance system, we ask you to take immediate steps to make coverage more stable and affordable," the letter said. "The current state of our individual market is unsustainable and we can all agree this is a problem that needs to be fixed."

The letter called on the Trump administration to try to make the law work by increasing outreach to get people to sign up for plans.

The governors also suggested a few concrete policy steps. Here's a quick rundown:

Fund cost-sharing-reduction payments.
Create a fund to help states address rising premiums.
Exempt insurers from the federal health-insurance tax for plans in underserved counties.
Allow people in underserved counties to buy into government benefits.
Re-create the federal reinsurance program.

The plan would also encourage open enrollment and institute other programs to allow states more flexibility in addressing their needs.

The proposal comes after Republican attempts to repeal and replace Obamacare — which were roundly criticized by many governors in both parties — fell through at the end of July.

A bipartisan solution is scheduled to be discussed by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee in September, once Congress returns from its monthlong recess.

Here's a full list of signatories:

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