ACA Is Officially Repealed—Temporarily

After months of legislative back-and-forth, and as we previewed here last month, the US House of Representatives has passed new legislation that essentially repeals the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or “Obamacare”). The Senate already voted to approve the bill, called the Restoring America’s Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act, after implementing changes to the original version. Proponents of the new bill—which President Obama has already promised to veto—say it would cut the federal deficit by $516 billion over 10 years by eliminating both the individual and employer mandates and defunding Planned Parenthood for a single year. The ACA was intended to offer all Americans affordable health insurance, but it has been widely disliked by many policy makers, as well as payers (some whom have had to lower earnings forecasts due to losses associated with ACA) and some members of the general public.