On June 22, the U.S. Senate issued the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017, a substitute to the House-passed American Health Care Act (AHCA), which would repeal and replace several provisions of the Affordable Care Act. The Senate bill was slated for a vote this week; however, on June 27 Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) delayed the vote until after the July 4 recess due to a lack of support for passage. 

On May 24, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report with estimates on the costs and overall effect of H.R. 1628, the American Health Care Act. This is the third report to come from the CBO since the bill was introduced in March. If the U.S. Senate passes the bill in its current form, the CBO estimates that the bill would reduce the federal deficit by $119 bil

The U.S. House of Representatives took steps to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act by passing H.R. 1628, the American Health Care Act (AHCA) on May 4. H.R. 1628 repeals several of the most harmful and burdensome provisions of the ACA, including the employer mandate penalty, costly tax increases and limitations on contributions to and restrictions on the use of flexible spending accounts and health savings accounts. ABC sent a letter in support of H.R. 1628 to the U.S. House of Representatives, which passed the House by a vote of 217-213. The bill now awaits action in the U.S. Senate.

In its first two weeks, the Trump administration took a series of significant executive actions in the areas of federal regulation, infrastructure, manufacturing, trade, immigration and health care.

On April 28, ABC submitted a letter to the chairmen of the congressional Task Force on Health Care Reform urging them to take action on common-sense health care solutions.  In the letter, ABC expressed its strong support for the task force’s mission to “modernize American health care with a patient-centered system that gives patients more choice and control, increases quality, and reduces costs.”

On April 12, ABC joined more than 60 national and multi-state organizations across the country in sending a letter  to members of the House Committee on Ways and Means urging them to take action on the Small Business Healthcare Relief Act (H.R. 2911 ).  The bill would allow small businesses that have fewer than 50 employees to offer employer payment plans and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) to employees for the payment of premiums or qualified medical expenses associated with insurance coverage.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed an amended version of the Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act (H.R. 3762) Jan. 6, which would repeal several, job-killing provisions in the Affordable Care Act. The same version of the bill passed the Senate 52-47 in Dec. 2015.

A recent Newsline article discussed the upcoming deadlines for the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) 2015 information reporting requirements under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) sections 6055 and 6056. On Dec. 28, 2015, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2016-4, which extends the deadlines for the 2015 information reporting requirements, both furnishing to individuals and filing with the IRS.

An updated summary of employer requirements under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is available for ABC members in a reference document provided by Washington Council Ernst & Young. The document is available on the health care law employer tool kit (login required) on ABC’s website.

For more than three years, ABC has advocated for the repeal of the complex and costly employer mandate included in the Affordable Care Act. On July 2, the Obama Administration finally acknowledged employers’ concerns about implementing the burdensome requirements in a timely and effective manner.