Repeal of Obamacare Act
Summary
Would repeal all of the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as 'Obamacare,' including the ban on insurance denials based on pre-existing conditions, the ability of adult children to remain on their parents' insurance plan until age 26, lower out-of-pocket costs for Medicare prescriptions, reimbursement of premiums above a certain percentage not used to cover health care costs, and the establishment of health care exchanges where individuals could purchase lower-cost policies.Details & Argument
The bill would repeal all of the provisions of the health care reform law retroactively from the date they were signed into law by President Obama. The legislation is similar to H.R. 2, the "Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act," and a number of similar measures.
The bulk of the bill's language consists of legislative findings that comprise Republican objections to the law, including assertions that "the law does not lower health care costs," the law and associated regulations "are causing great uncertainty, slowing economic growth, and limiting hiring opportunities for the approximately 13 million Americans searching for work," and that it "expands Government control over health care."
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said in support of the repeal legislation, "We believe, as do most of the American people, that patient-centered care is our goal. That's where we need to start. We start along the path towards that goal by repealing ObamaCare. ObamaCare has added cost upon cost. In fact, the average American family, in terms of the premiums that they pay, has paid a premium increase of approximately $1,200 since the passage of ObamaCare. In fact, the CBO estimates that insurance premiums for individuals buying private health coverage on their own will increase by $2,100 in 2016 compared to what the premiums would have been if the law had not passed. This is why, when study after study is showing that people are not able to keep the health care they like, it's because of the cost. People aren't able to afford it. The employers are unable to afford it. We are after patient-centered care. We are after affordable care. And we are trying to improve and enlarge the access to care. ObamaCare fails on all those fronts."
In opposition to repeal, Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, said, "In Ohio already, the law has been making a difference for hundreds of thousands of people--middle class families--for over 2 years. Nearly 100,000 young adults in Ohio have been able to remain on their parents' health insurance plan. In the first 5 months of this year, over 700 seniors just in my home town of Toledo, Ohio, have collectively saved over a half a million dollars on prescription drug costs. Last year, 1.2 million Medicare beneficiaries in Ohio received free preventive care from their doctor, like mammograms and colonoscopies. Insurance companies are now paying out over $11 million in rebates to Ohio families because the insurance companies did not spend enough on paying for health care. And over 4 million Ohioans, including 1.5 million women and 1.1 million children, have seen their insurance companies drop the lifetime and annual limits on care they had previously imposed. The Republicans here in the House of Representatives are voting to take away all these benefits, and what is the Republican plan to replace it? Nothing. The Republican plan to replace it is nothing."
The legislation passed the House, 244-185, with 239 Republicans and five Democrats voting in favor and 185 Democrats and no Republicans voting in opposition. One Democrat and one Republican did not vote.
The Middle-Class Position
The bill would repeal all of the provisions of the health care reform law retroactively from the date they were signed into law by President Obama. The legislation is similar to H.R. 2, the "Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act," and a number of similar measures.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said in support of the repeal legislation, "We believe, as do most of the American people, that patient-centered care is our goal. That's where we need to start. We start along the path towards that goal by repealing ObamaCare. ObamaCare has added cost upon cost. In fact, the average American family, in terms of the premiums that they pay, has paid a premium increase of approximately $1,200 since the passage of ObamaCare. In fact, the CBO estimates that insurance premiums for individuals buying private health coverage on their own will increase by $2,100 in 2016 compared to what the premiums would have been if the law had not passed. This is why, when study after study is showing that people are not able to keep the health care they like, it's because of the cost. People aren't able to afford it. The employers are unable to afford it. We are after patient-centered care. We are after affordable care. And we are trying to improve and enlarge the access to care. ObamaCare fails on all those fronts."
In opposition to repeal, Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, said, "In Ohio already, the law has been making a difference for hundreds of thousands of people--middle class families--for over 2 years. Nearly 100,000 young adults in Ohio have been able to remain on their parents' health insurance plan. In the first 5 months of this year, over 700 seniors just in my home town of Toledo, Ohio, have collectively saved over a half a million dollars on prescription drug costs. Last year, 1.2 million Medicare beneficiaries in Ohio received free preventive care from their doctor, like mammograms and colonoscopies. Insurance companies are now paying out over $11 million in rebates to Ohio families because the insurance companies did not spend enough on paying for health care. And over 4 million Ohioans, including 1.5 million women and 1.1 million children, have seen their insurance companies drop the lifetime and annual limits on care they had previously imposed. The Republicans here in the House of Representatives are voting to take away all these benefits, and what is the Republican plan to replace it? Nothing. The Republican plan to replace it is nothing."
The legislation passed the House, 244-185, with 239 Republicans and five Democrats voting in favor and 185 Democrats and no Republicans voting in opposition. One Democrat and one Republican did not vote.
