ALERT: USA: Congressional Efforts to Repeal ACA Begin on Day 1

January 5, 2017:

Asinta’s Partner in the United States, Alliant, has sent us the following information:

Members of Congress Move to Repeal the ACA

One of the promises president-elect Donald Trump made during his campaign for the presidency was a repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA was enacted by President Barack Obama in 2010 and was intended to expand health care insurance coverage while reducing insurance costs.

Although the president-elect isn’t set to take office until January 20, Congressional republicans have wasted no time in their efforts to repeal portions of the ACA. A resolution introduced this week by Wyoming Senator Mike Enzi (Chair of the Senate Budget Committee) is intended to repeal portions of the law by way of the budget reconciliation process. The resolution includes no specific details but requires relevant committees to approve draft reconciliation bills by January 27. These bills would specify which parts of the ACA would be repealed and how long to delay the implementation of the repeal to allow time to craft a replacement package.

The budget reconciliation process can only repeal certain budget related provisions of the ACA, but can pass by simple majority. The following changes could be made through this process:

  • Elimination of individual mandate
  • Elimination of employer mandate
  • Elimination of Exchange subsidies
  • Elimination of ACA-related taxes, including the Cadillac tax

A budget reconciliation bill cannot eliminate existing ACA coverage mandates, such as the prohibition on pre-existing condition exclusions, annual and lifetime limits, provision of no cost preventive care, etc. In that regard, pursuing change only through this process would inevitably create fairly significant cost imbalances.

Debate on the issue is intended to begin today as VP-elect Pence heads to Capitol Hill to push repeal efforts and President Obama meets with Democrats to strategize against those efforts. Among all this posturing are continued calls, even among Republicans, to delay repeal until there is a replacement bill.

If you would like more information on the topic of ACA reform and what other changes might be in store for the healthcare and employee benefits market in the United States under president-elect Donald Trump’s new administration, please attend Alliant’s online “Post-Election Planning” webinar scheduled for January 11, 2017 at 11 am PST. Please be sure to REGISTER HERE.