The Senate’s health care reform bill was released today, and we will report on that separately. In the meantime, below are key health care reform developments from the week of June 12^th.

• CMS Estimates Impact of the AHCA. The Office of the Chief Actuary at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a memorandum estimating that, under the American Health Care Act (“AHCA”), the number of insured will be approximately 13 million higher by 2026. Much of the difference from the CBO estimate of 23 million appears to result from differing assumptions regarding its impact on Medicaid enrollees. The memorandum also concluded that while the AHCA is estimated to reduce the average gross premium in the individual insurance market by 13% by 2026, premiums will be approximately 5% higher as a result of the loss of government subsidies.

• AHCA Add-On Legislation Passed by the House. The House of Representatives passed three bills amending the AHCA. These bills – The Verify First Act, The Veterans Equal Treatment Ensures Relief and Access Now (VETERAN) Act, and The Broader Options for Americans Act – were discussed in prior weekly roundups.

• Legislation Introduced to Make ACA Coverage More Affordable for Middle Class Families. Currently under the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), families making any amount greater than 400% of the federal poverty level receive no financial assistance in the form of premium credits or cost-sharing subsidies for coverage purchased on the Marketplace. New Legislation, The Affordable Health Insurance for the Middle Class Act, would strike this income cap and, as a result, no individual or family would pay more than 9.69% (indexed for inflation) of their monthly income toward health insurance premiums.

• New FAQ Says Eating Disorders are a Mental Illness for MHPAEA Purposes and Requests Comments on Model Forms. Continuing efforts to provide guidance on health care reform issues, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury (collectively, the “Agencies”) have issued a new FAQ related to mental health parity. In general, the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (“MHPAEA”), as amended by the ACA and the 21^st Century Cures Act provides that quantitative and nonquantitative treatment limitations applied to mental health and substance abuse services cannot be more restrictive than the limitations that apply to substantially all medical and surgical benefits. The FAQ answers one question – whether services for eating disorders must be provided in parity with medical and surgical benefits. The Agencies answer that eating disorders are mental health conditions, the treatment of which is subject to the MHPAEA requirements.Additionally, regulations under MHPAEA and subsequent-related guidance provide that plans are required to disclose information regarding mental health and substance abuse benefits, including nonquantitative treatment limitations and how they are applied to the benefits. In an effort to make required disclosure easier, the FAQ requests comments on whether model forms would be helpful and whether different forms should be created for various types of nonquantitative treatment limitations.  The Agencies also released draft disclosure and information request forms and requested comments on those forms.