Frankie Cordeira Jr.

Description: Obamacare Taxes May Not Go Away GOP Senators Say... Republican senators said its unclear whether their chamber will repeal all of the taxes imposed under Obamacare as they set aside the health-care bill passed by the House and prepare to write their own from scratch. Thats hard to say right now. We just have to see said Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch the Utah Republican whose panel oversees health-care and tax policy. Its going to be negotiated. The uncertainty comes despite what Hatch said on the floor of the Senate in February when he called repealing the Obamacare taxes essential labeling them harmful to the economy. Hatch and other GOP senators including Budget Chairman Mike Enzi are signaling theyre going to move slowly as they consider the case for and against repealing the health-care taxes. Some of the Republican senators say theyre wary of the loss of revenue that would result if the Obamacare taxes were eliminated and how that could jeopardize the prospects of helping the uninsured obtain coverage. I think well take our time on that one said Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota. Get the latest on global politics in your inbox every day. Get our newsletter daily. The uncertainty comes after the House narrowly passed legislation to replace the Affordable Care Acteliminating taxes that affect insurers medical device makers as well as individuals earning more than $200000 a year who face a 3.8 percent tax on investment income. Theres also a 0.9 percent Medicare surcharge for top earners. TheCongressional Budget Office estimated on March 23 that the revenue lost from repealing the taxes would total $999 billion over a decade. Still when asked last week whether the Senates working group for health care had brought up the idea of nixing the House health bills tax cuts one of the groups members Rob Portman an Ohio Republican said theres been no discussion of that. Senators who are working on crafting a health care bill met Tuesday to discuss the way forward. Clean Sheet The question of what to do with the Affordable Care Act taxes is one of many issues looming over Republican senators -- along with how to handle the expansion of Medicaid and subsidies for older sicker Americans. Were starting over from a clean sheet of paper here said Senator Bob Corker a Tennessee Republican. I dont think youre going to see an effort to modify it. Its an effort to write a new bill. Senator Chuck Grassley an Iowa Republican and a former chairman of the Finance Committee said his party members specifically decided to write a Senate bill so we dont have to worry about the House bill at all until we get to conference. Corker said its important to him that any health-care bill the GOP passes is funded and on a permanent basis. I do want to make sure that whatever funding source is there is one thats sustainable --and doesnt just end during a budget window -- to make things work" he said. Preexisting Conditions Senator Bill Cassidy a Louisiana Republican suggested that Congress needs the money from the health-care taxes to fund a replacement to meet President Donald Trumps promises of protecting coverage for Americans. If you eliminate pay-fors you eliminate your ability to fulfill President Trumps pledge -- his contract with the voter said Cassidy a physician. Keep coverage caring for those with preexisting conditions without mandate and lowering your premiums. Late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel who disclosed that his infant son has a severe heart defect and made a plea earlier this month for preexisting condition protection asked Cassidy during an interview that aired Monday night why lawmakers are giving a tax cut to millionaires like Kimmel. Cassidys response: Tell the American people to call their senators. During a Bloomberg interview Monday Cassidy suggested health-care taxes should be part of a tax bill not a health-care overhaul. You deal with it all at one time when you do tax reform not piecemeal he said.
By Frankie Cordeira Jr.
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