House Republicans are planning Obamacare repeal votes in the final few days before the Supreme Court announces a decision that could radically alter the law.
The House will vote the third week of June to repeal the Affordable Care Act’s tax on medical devices, and its provision allowing for a board of appointees to cut Medicare doctor payments if the program’s spending grows too fast, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced in a memo to members.
The medical device tax has long topped lists of Obamacare provisions that have bipartisan opposition. And while Medicare costs haven’t yet grown fast enough to even trigger the formation of the Independent Payment Advisory Board, or IPAB, this controversial board remains a political sticking point for the GOP.
“Beyond Obamacare’s added costs, reduced choice and access to Medicare Advantage plans for seniors, the law’s 15 person Independent Payment Advisory Board acts as a de facto rationing body through arbitrary cuts to providers that can effectively stop access to care in order to control costs,” McCarthy wrote.
Votes on those bills will happen just days before the Supreme Court is expected to rule in the King v. Burwell decision, which could eliminate a majority of Obamacare insurance subsidies for low and middle-income people. In that case, the justices could rule it’s illegal for the Obama administration to award the subsidies in the states relying on the federal website, healthcare.gov, instead of running their own exchanges.
McCarthy didn’t mention any planned votes on legislation providing a contingency plan should the court decide those subsidies are illegal.
Republicans don’t like the subsidies, but many say they shouldn’t be abruptly cut off. Several members have introduced plans to keep them temporarily, but it’s still unclear whether the GOP will be able to coalesce around any one plan.
Besides the Obamacare repeal votes, the House also plans to vote on several Medicare-related measures. One would delay the government’s authority to terminate privately-run Medicare plans that underperform. Another would require the government to annually report on enrollment data for such plans.
Members might also take up a medical cures bill recently passed by the Energy and Commerce Committee, McCarthy said.
