The Senate needed 51 votes to pass the Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 (HR 3762), a budget reconciliation bill which would repeal several key parts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  They got 52 when they voted on December 3rd.  The bill, which was previously passed by the House of Representatives (House), was approved by the Senate with some amendments.  That means the bill will have to go back to the House for another vote, where most expect it will be passed.  

 

The bill that was passed by the Senate would phase out Medicaid expansion, suspend subsidies available in the Exchange for two years, repeal the Individual and Employer Mandates, and it would repeal the Cadillac Tax and several other taxes the law imposes, among other things.   

 

Under the assumption the amended bill is passed by the House, that would mean President Obama will be forced to use his veto power to keep his signature law intact.  The President has said on numerous occasions he is prepared to use such power for any bill that repealed key components of the ACA.  

 

As a result, it’s not expected the recently passed Senate bill will become law anytime soon, but you can be assured the ACA will continue to be a huge topic of debate in the upcoming elections.

 

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The materials contained within this communication are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal or tax advice.