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Urban Health Has Dodged a Bullet

Funding to fight lead poisoning, opioid addiction, and chronic disease could have vanished with the “skinny repeal” of the ACA.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who led the effort to pass the "skinny bill."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who led the effort to pass the "skinny bill." Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo
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With Republicans’ latest attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act defeated in the wee hours of Friday morning, millions of Americans are breathing a sigh of relief.

Based on the reported content of the so-called “skinny repeal”— introduced mere hours before last night’s vote—the Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would have increased the number of uninsured Americans by 16 million by 2026.