Common
12-02-2017, 11:49 AM
(?subject=TheHill.com%3A%20Senate%20GOP%20repeals% 20ObamaCare%20mandate&body=From%20TheHill.com%3A%20%0A%0ASenate%20Republ icans%20have%20approved%20the%20repeal%20of%20Obam aCare%E2%80%99s%20individual%20mandate%20as%20part %20of%20their%20ta...%0A%0Ahttp%3A//thehill.com/policy/healthcare/362838-senate-gop-repeals-obamacare-mandate)
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Senate Republicans have approved the repeal of ObamaCare’s individual mandate as part of their tax-cut bill, a major step toward ending an unpopular part of the health-care law.
“Families ought to be able to make decisions about what they want to buy and what works for them — not the government,” Sen. John Barrasso (http://thehill.com/people/john-barrasso) (R-Wyo.) said, hailing the accomplishment.
“I believe if people don’t want to buy the ObamaCare insurance, they shouldn’t have to pay a tax penalty to the IRS.”
The Senate tax bill must still be reconciled with House legislation that does not include the mandate’s repeal. But that is unlikely to be a major issue, given support in the GOP conference for repealing the mandate.
No Democrats in either chamber voted for the GOP tax bills.
It’s unclear what repeal of the mandate will mean for ObamaCare.
Many experts and health-care groups warn that (http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/360597-mandate-repeal-sparks-fears-of-premium-hikes) repeal will destabilize ObamaCare markets, leading to premium increases or insurers simply dropping out of certain areas. Without a financial penalty under the mandate for lacking health coverage, there is less incentive for healthy people to sign up and balance out the costs of the sick.
Some experts counter that the effects will not be as severe as others say, given that there are doubts the mandate had a strong effect on people to begin with.
Moderate Republicans are now pushing for bipartisan ObamaCare fixes to help stabilize insurance markets, setting up a showdown with conservatives.
The mandate’s repeal was not part of the original tax-reform measure released by the Senate Finance Committee, and Chairman Orrin Hatch (http://thehill.com/people/orrin-hatch) (R-Utah) previously said he wanted to keep the divisive health-care issue separate from taxes.
But President Trump, along with Senate conservatives such as Sen. Tom Cotton (http://thehill.com/people/tom-cotton) (R-Ark.), made a vocal public push for its inclusion.
Repealing the mandate also saves $300 billion over ten years in subsidies that otherwise would have been spent on consumers, according to the Congressional Budget Office, providing savings for the tax cuts.
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/362838-senate-gop-repeals-obamacare-mandate
Autoplay: On (http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/362838-senate-gop-repeals-obamacare-mandate#) | Off (http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/362838-senate-gop-repeals-obamacare-mandate#)
Senate Republicans have approved the repeal of ObamaCare’s individual mandate as part of their tax-cut bill, a major step toward ending an unpopular part of the health-care law.
“Families ought to be able to make decisions about what they want to buy and what works for them — not the government,” Sen. John Barrasso (http://thehill.com/people/john-barrasso) (R-Wyo.) said, hailing the accomplishment.
“I believe if people don’t want to buy the ObamaCare insurance, they shouldn’t have to pay a tax penalty to the IRS.”
The Senate tax bill must still be reconciled with House legislation that does not include the mandate’s repeal. But that is unlikely to be a major issue, given support in the GOP conference for repealing the mandate.
No Democrats in either chamber voted for the GOP tax bills.
It’s unclear what repeal of the mandate will mean for ObamaCare.
Many experts and health-care groups warn that (http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/360597-mandate-repeal-sparks-fears-of-premium-hikes) repeal will destabilize ObamaCare markets, leading to premium increases or insurers simply dropping out of certain areas. Without a financial penalty under the mandate for lacking health coverage, there is less incentive for healthy people to sign up and balance out the costs of the sick.
Some experts counter that the effects will not be as severe as others say, given that there are doubts the mandate had a strong effect on people to begin with.
Moderate Republicans are now pushing for bipartisan ObamaCare fixes to help stabilize insurance markets, setting up a showdown with conservatives.
The mandate’s repeal was not part of the original tax-reform measure released by the Senate Finance Committee, and Chairman Orrin Hatch (http://thehill.com/people/orrin-hatch) (R-Utah) previously said he wanted to keep the divisive health-care issue separate from taxes.
But President Trump, along with Senate conservatives such as Sen. Tom Cotton (http://thehill.com/people/tom-cotton) (R-Ark.), made a vocal public push for its inclusion.
Repealing the mandate also saves $300 billion over ten years in subsidies that otherwise would have been spent on consumers, according to the Congressional Budget Office, providing savings for the tax cuts.
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/362838-senate-gop-repeals-obamacare-mandate