The House has voted more than 60 times to repeal or partially gut Obamacare, but the next vote could be different.
That is because a House package that repeals the healthcare law is intended to avoid a filibuster in the Republican-controlled Senate and send it to President Obama’s desk through a simple 51-vote majority.
The House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday advanced via a 23-14 vote a package of legislation that would essentially gut Obamacare and in a separate voice vote to cut a maligned Medicare advisory board.
The Senate could pass the legislation through a process called reconciliation, which means it could pass by a simple majority and not through a 60-vote majority needed to bypass a filibuster.
Under Senate rules, legislation that helps to meet budget targets can be passed with 51 votes. To comply with that rule, all of the provisions in the bill focus on taxes and spending, said Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., chairman of the committee.
The legislation would repeal Obamacare’s individual and employer mandate, the law’s “Cadillac” tax on high-cost health plans and tax on medical devices. It also would repeal a board that would recommend Medicare cuts to Congress if healthcare costs reach a certain threshold.
The bill would effectively gut Obamacare as the mandates are key drivers for signing up people for health insurance. The taxes are also included to generate funding.
“The problem with healthcare is it’s too expensive,” Ryan said in his opening statement. “And for too many people, the law makes it more expensive — by taking away people’s choices.”
Democrats on the committee were livid, with many calling the legislation a waste of time.
“I cannot believe we are going down this road,” said Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., who said the legislation would take away health insurance from people who need it.
Other committees are pursuing the same strategy. The House Energy and Commerce Committee will start a markup Tuesday of a bill that would use reconciliation to defund Planned Parenthood.
It also plans to vote to repeal the Prevention and Public Health Fund, which provides funding for prevention and public health programs, including immunization and screenings.
Once the bills leave committee, the House Budget Committee will stitch together the three bills and send a single reconciliation package to the House floor for a vote, according to a release from the Ways and Means Committee.
The reconciliation package appears likely to get passed in the House and could be passed in the Senate, but it is highly unlikely that Obama will sign it into law.
