Though some Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have supported repealing the ACA's individual insurance mandate as part of tax reform legislation, House leaders are hesitant to jeopardize the fate of their tax bill with a controversial healthcare measure, according to The Hill.
The Senate plans to unveil its tax plan Thursday, and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., has been a vocal supporter of including the mandate repeal. However, few in House are willing to commit to it. Members of the House Ways and Means Committee have anonymously said they believe the Senate may propose including a repeal, but that it was never a plan for their own bill.
"There are pros and cons to this. Importing healthcare into a tax-reform debate has consequences," said Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, according to The Hill.
However, more conservative members of the House are pushing for the repeal after Congress' failure to repeal and replace the ACA earlier this year.
"When given the opportunity to actually address even part of an ObamaCare repeal with a simple majority, our leadership consistently finds excuses to justify their failure," said an anonymous conservative House representative who supports the repeal, according to The Hill.
President Trump suggested that if Congress is unable to repeal the mandate, he will consider taking executive action.