The new Republican majority in the House is expected to pass its repeal of the healthcare reform law on Wednesday and follow it up with key committees crafting replacement legislation, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
While a few House Democrats may endorse the GOP effort, titled the "Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act," the Democrat-controlled Senate has no plans to take it up and in any case President Barack Obama is expected to veto it.
After the Wednesday vote, House committees plan to begin "the exploration of better policy alternatives designed to lower costs, improve access, protect the doctor-patient relationship and get lawyers out of operating rooms," said John Murray, deputy chief of staff for Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.).
In the absence of outright repeal in the Senate, several senators are looking to tweak the law. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore), wants to redistribute nearly $60 billion in taxes on insurers so that companies maintaining lower premiums would pay less. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) are looking at ways to replace the individual mandate to buy health insurance.
Both parties want to remove a piece of the law requiring businesses to file a 1099 tax form whenever they pay a vendor more than $600 in a year, but they have not been able to agree on how to replace an estimated $19 billion in lost revenue from doing so.
And Republican governors want to remove a mandate in the law that stops states from cutting Medicaid enrollees to reduce budget shortfalls.
Read the Wall Street Journal report on healthcare reform.
Read more coverage on healthcare reform:
- House Delays Repeal Vote Following Shooting
- Repeal Would Cost $230B Over Next Decade, Congressional Budget Office Says
- House Sets Jan. 12 for Vote to Repeal Reform Law