Heritage Action is ramping up pressure on Republicans to try to repeal all of Obamacare, even though most congressional aides say that’s impossible.
In a lengthy memo released Monday, the conservative advocacy group explained how it thinks Republicans could use special budgeting rules to repeal all of the Affordable Care Act, instead of just the parts that affect federal spending. To repeal the law with just 51 votes in the Senate, Republicans have to use a method called budget reconciliation, but there is disagreement on which parts of the law are allowed to fit in such a vehicle.
“The Republican-controlled Congress has every tool that it needs to overcome any and all obstacles that stand in the way of fully repealing Obamacare,” the memo says.
“In fact, it is entirely possible for the Republican Congress to have a bill fully repealing Obamacare on President-elect Trump’s desk by the time he takes office on January 20,” it says. “This memo outlines the path that Congress can take over the next two months to ensure a bill repealing Obamacare is the first thing President Trump signs – and that he signs it on Inauguration Day.”
Only parts of the law that affect federal spending can be included in a budget reconciliation bill, with the final say is up to the Senate parlimentarian. But the Heritage memo downplayed the role of the parlimentarian, saying the decision is ultimately up to “the Senate as a whole.”
At issue is whether the law’s regulations on insurers, requiring them to cover certain benefits and limiting their spending on overhead, can be included in a budget reconcilication bill repealing the law.
The repeal bill Republicans passed last year doesn’t include those elements, but does repeal other major parts of the law including its insurance subsidies, Medicaid expansion and individual and employer mandates. Republicans are debating whether to pass that bill again or revise it first, before sending it to President-elect Trump once he takes office.
