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GOP introduces bill to replace ACA

March 07, 2017

A proposed replacement to the Affordable Care Act that will do away with both employer and individual mandates was released on Monday by House Republicans. The 123-page bill, named the American Health Care Act, also replaces ACA subsidies with tax credits and repeals mandates that individuals purchase and small businesses offer health insurance. It also dropped plans for a controversial tax on high-value employer health plans that were included in a prior version.

CNBC reports some small-business groups are glad to see employer mandates go.

“We think economics and affordability will drive people to get coverage, not necessarily penalties,” says Karen Kerrigan, president and CEO of the nonpartisan Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, told CNBC. “Repealing the mandates, including the employer mandate, and taxes in the ACA are measures we have supported for some time.”

The proposed also legislation eliminated prior plans for a controversial tax on high-value employer health plans. Business groups had warned that taxing employer health benefits would cause employers to terminate coverage and/or prompt employees to drop out of those plans, Crain’s Detroit Business reported. “It would pretty quickly expose people to income and payroll taxes, and the number of people purchasing coverage would decline,” said Kristof Stremikis, associate policy director at the Pacific Business Group on Health.

The law is sure to prove contentious on Capitol Hill.

“Obamacare is rapidly collapsing,” House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., said in a statement. “Skyrocketing premiums, soaring deductibles, and dwindling choices are not what the people were promised seven years ago. It’s time to turn a page and rescue our healthcare system from this disastrous law. The American Health Care Act is a plan to drive down costs, encourage competition, and give every American access to quality, affordable health insurance.”

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called for a final report from the Congressional Budget Office before voting on the bill.

“This Republican bill will do massive damage to millions of families across the nation,” Pelosi said. “Republicans have decided that affordable health care should be the privilege of the wealthy, not the right of every family in America.

“Without a CBO score to reveal the catastrophic consequences of their Make America Sick Again bill, Republicans must not move forward with a committee vote. The American people deserve to see what Republicans are trying to do to their health care.”