On Wednesday, January 19, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act (H.R. 2), a largely symbolic bill that would repeal the health care reform legislation enacted last year, in a 245-189 vote.
The new legislation, backed unanimously by House Republicans, would repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and the health care-related provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. The bill was largely approved along party lines with all 242 Republicans and only three Democrats voting in favor of the measure.
Since the U.S. Senate has indicated that it won’t take up the bill, the repeal legislation is unlikely to move much further. Even if it somehow managed to pass the Democratic-majority Senate, President Barack Obama has indicated that he would veto it.
Although the legislation appears doomed, Republicans assert that it is only the first step in their “repeal and replace” strategy. In the next part of the Republicans’ plan, they want to change the PPACA by getting rid of some of its provisions and replacing others. Several House committees are expected to begin drafting alternative health care reform legislation soon.
Some of the health care reform ideas that certain Republicans reportedly favor include:
- limiting damages in medical malpractice lawsuits;
- providing tax credits to help individuals pay for health insurance;
- permitting the sale of health insurance across state lines;
- helping small businesses join together to buy insurance; and
- supporting the combination of health savings accounts and high-deductible insurance policies.
Democrats have suggested that they are amenable to reexamining certain parts of the PPACA, and according to the Washington Post, even the White House is “open” to suggestions to improve the current legislation. We will continue to keep you updated on the latest news and updates on health care reform and how it affects employers.
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The health care bill is immoral. It should be repealed ASAP. Real health reform would consist of dropping all government mandates for any sort of coverage. Insurance companies and entrepreneurs would figure out ways to cover everyone in order to make a profit. Also, tax breaks for employers should be eliminated so individuals can seek out their own best coverage instead of relying on their employers for it. Individual policies would also be carried from job to job instead of being tied to a particular employer. Those two changes alone would do more to improve coverage and cost than ANYTHING the government could do.
What a joke. It is nice to see the political animal alive and well in the Republican Party of Congress. As a life long Republican, I was embarrased that my elected officials would allow the need to be re-elected surpass the need of individuals to obtain insurance. Welcome to the world of politics!
Repealing the healthcare reform act is very near committing murder for hire. In order to earn profits insurance companies deny care or try to bamboozle their way out of covering a patient when a real illness that costs money occurs. If a person causes another’s death for money…well, not too big of a jump there. In regards to forcing people to get coverage, our business is forced to buy worker’s comp coverage, auto coverage, liability coverage etc. As an individual, I am required to purchase auto coverage and home owners coverage so I really don’t see much of a difference. It would be unfair to wreck your car and then try to buy coverage to have it fixed, just like it is unfair to wait to purchase insurance until you have an expensive illness without every paying into the system. This causes a huge failure in the system and penalizes responsible people by charging them more for uninsured’s costs.