ACA Reconciliation Process, CHIP Both End Tonight

The latest effort to repeal and replace Obamacare -- the Graham-Cassidy bill that would turn health care over to the states -- never made it to vote, and with the fiscal year ending tonight, the Republicans' chance to use the reconciliation process, which requires only a majority vote in the Senate, ends with it. Meanwhile, the Children's Health Insurance Program, commonly called CHIP, runs out of authorization tonight as well. Next up for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is Wednesday's deadline for insurers to opt in for the ACA marketplaces, referred to as exchanges. But insurers are reluctant to commit until they hear the fate of the cost-sharing reduction (CSR) provision of the ACA. The Trump administration has been making the monthly CSR payments, but the president himself keeps threatening to shut down the program, which is designed to lower health care premiums. He calls CSR payments "bailouts."