House Republican leaders release ACA repeal legislation

House Republican leaders last night unveiled a legislative package to repeal and replace parts of the Affordable Care Act. Taken together, the bills by the Republican leadership of the Energy & Commerce and Ways & Means committees – collectively called the American Health Care Act – would repeal the ACA’s employer and individual mandates to purchase health coverage and replace the law's means-tested advance premium tax credits and cost-sharing reductions with tax credits that vary by age and income. The package also would end the enhanced Medicaid federal funding for future expansion populations, beginning in 2020, and transition the program to a per capita cap funding model. In addition, the package would repeal most of the law’s taxes while maintaining, though delaying, the tax on high-value employer-sponsored health plans (or “Cadillac” tax). The bill does not restore the hospital market basket reductions or Medicare disproportionate share hospital cuts used to help fund the ACA coverage expansions. “Health care coverage is vitally important to working Americans and their families,” said AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack in a letter to members of the House of Representatives. “…We ask Congress to protect our patients, and find ways to maintain coverage for as many Americans as possible. We look forward to continuing to work with the Congress and the Administration on ACA reform, but we cannot support The American Health Care Act in its current form.” AHA members received a Special Bulletin with highlights of the legislation.