Now that the House has passed the AHCA what’s next?

Michael A. Embry, RHU

President – National Association of Health Underwriters

 

With the recent passage in the House of Representatives of the America Health Care Act (AHCA) and the scoring of the bill by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the work now moves on to the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has paved the way for the legislation to be fast-tracked in the Senate. They are trying to craft legislation and get it passed before the July 4^th recess. Then it on to the conference committee to iron out the differences with the House version.

Top of mind for NAHU are some very important issues with potential Senate Legislation:

1. Complete and total repeal of the Cadillac / Excise tax. While this was delayed in the House bill it’s the desire of NAHU to have it totally repealed.
2. Capping or removing the employer exclusion for the cost of employer sponsored plans. This would potentially be a disaster for employers as well as employees in the event that group plans are no longer deductible to business and taxable income to employees.
3. Continuing the premium and cost sharing subsidies. With most if not all of the ACA taxes being repealed in the AHCA there has to be another vehicle presented to pay for the continuation of the subsidies.

NAHU continues to be in the forefront of these discussions with Congress as well as the Director of both HHS – Tom Price and CMS – Dr. Seema Verma to work on solutions that can be done from a regulatory standpoint.

As a member of NAHU, you have many resources at your disposal in the Members area of nahu.org. These include many infographics that can be shared with your clients. The Compliance corner is a great resource for questions regarding any of the legislation.

If you are not currently a member of NAHU then now is the time to join and get involve