Legislation (H.R. 763) that would
repeal the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance tax has garnered enough
supporters to clear the House, backers of the measure said.
A spokeswoman for Rep. Jim
Matheson (D-Utah) told BNA June 17 the Jobs and Premium Protection Act now has
221 sponsors, or a majority of the 435 members of the chamber. It is unclear
when the bill will be brought to the House floor, and it faces an uncertain
future in the Senate.
Matheson is a co-sponsor of the
bill, along with Rep. Charles W. Boustany Jr. (R-La.). Sens. Orrin G. Hatch
(R-Utah) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) introduced a companion bill (S. 603) in the
Senate.
ACA will assess an annual fee on
health insurance companies beginning in 2014. The fee is to be apportioned
among fully insured health insurance plans based on net premiums, which will be
calculated by the Internal Revenue Service.
The Congressional Budget Office
estimates the fee will raise $8 billion in 2014 and $101 billion over 10 years.
The fee is the largest of the industry-specific taxes or fees levied by ACA.
Momentum for Repeal
America’s Health Insurance Plans,
which represents health insurers, said in a June 17 press release that
garnering the support of a majority of House members will lend momentum to
efforts to eliminate the tax.
“Taxing health insurance makes it
more expensive, and that is the opposite of what health care reform was
supposed to accomplish,” said Karen Ignagni AHIP president. “Congress should
take action this year to protect families, small businesses, and seniors from
the harmful effects of this tax.”
AHIP says the tax will cause
health insurance premiums to rise for individuals, small businesses, seniors in
Medicare Advantage plans, and state Medicaid programs.
Some have said the fee was meant
to be levied on health insurers, and its cost should not be passed on to
customers.
“With the insurance mandate poised
to deliver millions of new customers to insurance companies, it would seem fair
to ask the insurance companies to pony up some of the cost of the law that was
going to give them so many more millions in customers,” Rep. Janice Hahn
(D-Calif.), ranking member on the House Small Business Subcommittee on Health
and Technology, said at a May 9 hearing on the issue (91 DTR G-3, 5/10/13).