Under the Senate healthcare bill, an oil crash could eventually influence poor Americans' healthcare

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mitch mcconnnells office bcra healthcare obamacare repeal protest

Jacquelyn Martin/AP

People are removed from a sit-in outside of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's office as they protest proposed cuts to Medicaid, Thursday, June 22, 2017 on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Senate Republican leadership on Thursday released a draft of its long-awaited healthcare bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017.

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Like the American Health Care Act, passed by the House in May, the bill proposes a fundamental restructuring and deep cuts to Medicaid, the government-run health program that provides insurance primarily to pregnant women, single mothers, people with disabilities, and seniors with low incomes.

But the BCRA, the Senate's bill, makes even more drastic changes to Medicaid in the long run.

One major change could result in global economic shifts, with no relation to healthcare, having a profound impact on the level of funding to the program - like an oil crash.

Here's how:

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