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FILE: April 16, 2013: House Speaker John Boehner,center,
accompanied by members of the House Republican leadership, speaks on Capitol
Hill, in Washington, D.C. (AP)
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The Republican-led House is set to begin February with a
vote to repeal ObamaCare, making clear that trying to dismantle the health-care
law remains a top priority.
The scheduled vote next week was announced in a new memo
from House Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy to fellow GOP House members in
which he said the effort to repeal the legislation will give them an
opportunity to tell voters that health care decisions “should be made by
patients and their doctors, not by Washington.”
The California lawmaker also stated that members should
remind Americans that the country needs solutions that reduce costs and give
them access to “21st Century cures and treatments” -- an often repeated message
at congressional Republicans’ policy retreat earlier this month.
“First, we will consider (a bill) to protect individuals
from government-imposed cost increases and reduced access to care and coverage
by repealing ObamaCare,” McCarthy said in the memo obtain Thursday by Fox News.
GOP House and Senate leaders emerged from the retreat saying
they intend to fix problems associated with ObamaCare but with no clear plan on
whether they would focus on a full repeal or just change parts.
The House has already voted this year to redefine full-time
work under the law -- an attempt to keep businesses from hiring part-time
workers to avoid having to offer insurance.
And chamber leaders also want to repeal the law’s tax on
medical-device makers, which they say is hurting businesses and has bipartisan
support.
Last week, leaders of the now GOP-controlled Senate
introduced legislation to eliminate the law’s so-called employer mandate,
arguing that companies with 50 or more workers should not be required to pay
for employee health insurance.
However, President Obama has made clear he will veto any
legislation that he thinks scales back access to health care that his law now
provides to millions of previously uninsured Americans.
The president and fellow Democrats have also been critical
about Republicans’ repeated attempts to repeal the law without party leaders
presenting a viable alternative.
The repeal vote next week will be the first for newly
elected members to show where they stand on the issue.
McCarthy, in his memo, instructed relevant House committees
to “develop our patient-centered health care reforms."
Congressional Republicans have acknowledged that a Supreme
Court case on ObamaCare tax subsidies for customers will impact their strategy.
If the subsidies are rules unconstitutional, the law could
unravel on its own, say some observers. The ruling is expected by June.
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