United States Sen. Shelley Moore Capito has joined other senators to work to replace the Affordable Care Act with the Patient Freedom Act of 2017.

The bill, which can be found on the official Congress website, says its purpose is “to improve patient choice by allowing States to adopt market-based alternatives to the Affordable Care Act.”

According to the bill, these alternatives from the Patient Freedom Act of 2017 will work to “increase access to affordable health insurance and reduce costs while ensuring important consumer protections and improving patient care.”

The replacement plan for the Affordable Care Act comes after the executive order released by President Trump on his first day in office.

According to the official White House website, the executive order outlines how the president wants to immediately appeal the legislation that was implemented by the previous administration.

Sen. Capito and the other sponsors of the bill introduced the replacement plan in response to discussion around the nation of what will substitute the Affordable Care Act.

The Patient Freedom Act of 2017 was sponsored by Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-LA, and among a few of the cosponsors include Sen. Capito, R-WV and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC.

The Patient Freedom Act of 2017 is a completely Republican sponsored piece of legislation which was drafted to create a new plan over the previous Democratic administration policy.

Although this bill is intended to affect the entire nation, Sen. Capito shared a news release which emphasizes her views on how the Patient Freedom Act of 2017 will specifically help citizens of West Virginia.

According to the news release, Sen. Capito outlined how her supported plan will benefit her fellow West Virginians in regards to healthcare.

Sen. Capito is quoted in her release saying, “I think a replacement will be much better, cover more people and also give people the choices that they need. We can make our own decisions on healthcare. We don’t need the federal government’s heavy-hand-making those decisions.”

“I am hopeful for the future of West Virginia if the Patient Freedom Act of 2017 is enacted,” Sen. Capito said on her Twitter account and the release. 

According to the official Congress website, the bill has been read twice in the Senate and has since been sent to the Finance Committee for further consideration.

Kylee Hurley can be contacted at [email protected].