The Republican leadership in the House recently proposed its ACA repeal and replace bill.
It remains uncertain as to whether Republicans can secure enough support amongst themselves to pass the bill.
Just after the bill was released, Jim Jordan (R. Ohio),who is the former chair of the House Freedom Caucus, a group totaling about 40 conservative Republicans, railed against the bill and told reporters that he would not support it in its current form.
Other critics include Rep. Mark Sanford (R. S.C.) who takes issue with refundable tax credits (aka “entitlements”) and Medicaid expansion. From right-wing lawmakers, the criticism is that the bill is “Obamacare lite.” Diametrically opposed are moderate Republicans who have rebuked the bill for taking away ACA’s Medicaid expansion and the roll back of the “entitlements.” Sen. Rand Paul (R. Ky) called the current bill “dead on arrival.”
A reminder is that both houses of Congress need to pass the bill. However, based on the foregoing underscored by the added rejection by a number of influential conservative advocacy groups including Heritage Action for America and Club for Growth, it would appear that the current bill has no chance of success. As noted by former House Speaker, John Boehner, “In the 25 years that I served in the United States Congress, Republicans never, ever one time agreed on what a health care proposal should look like.”
Notably, even if the bill passes, this does not mean the end of the ACA. Many states like the ACA and what it has brought to their residents. For example, California has responded to the possibility of an ACA repeal and replace with a stated intent to implement their own state ACA program, regardless of whether the state receives federal subsidies. Massachusetts will continue on the same path even if the federal law changes.
What this means is that in the cloud of uncertainty of what will happen with the ACA, the only thing that is certain is that healthcarecompliance will only become more complicated as state variations are likely. Moreover, at the end of the day, unless and until this bill passes, employers remain obligated to report under the ACA. Indeed, even in the ACA repeal and replace bill, it contemplates employer reporting. Of course, if that bill passes, which is highly suspect, we would have to wait until the regulations come out to see what the details of that reporting will look like.
