House Bill Focuses On Deleting Obamacare Tax On Insurers
Rep. Charles Boustany Jr., R-La., and Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., have teamed up to introduce the measure. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton is urging Congress to act on the Children's Health Insurance Program, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is continuing her push to use drug industry penalties to increase medical research funding.
The Hill:
House Bill Would Repeal Obamacare Tax On Insurance Companies
Rep. Charles Boustany Jr. (R-La.) is renewing his push to repeal an ObamaCare tax on insurance companies that he says “drives up costs” across the board. Boustany is joining Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) on a bill to repeal the Health Insurance Tax, which he said hurts individuals and businesses by increasing premiums and out-of-pocket costs. ... The tax is an important revenue source for the Affordable Care Act, amounting to $8 billion in 2014 and rising to $14.3 billion by 2018, though the Congressional Budget Office has warned it would be “largely passed through to consumers in the form of higher premiums.” (Ferris, 2/12)
The Hill:
Hillary Calls For Extending CHIP Funding
Clinton, the presumed 2016 Democratic presidential frontrunner, is calling on Congress to extend the Children's Health Insurance Program's (CHIP) funding for the next four years, labeling the approximately $10 billion expense "an investment in our children that will pay off for decades to come." Senate Democrats have launched their own push to reauthorize the program, signing on as co-sponsors of a bill that would extend funding through 2019. Currently, the program's funding runs out at the end of September. A companion bill was also introduced in the House on Thursday. (Byrnes 2/12)
The Wall Street Journal:
A ‘Swear Jar’ For Drug Makers
Should drug makers that break the law be required to pay an extra penalty that would be used to fund the National Institutes of Health? Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Ma.) believes this idea would not only provide needed money for medical research, but would help persuade drug makers to curtail bad behavior. Last month she introduced a bill, the Medical Innovation Act, that she has described as the equivalent of a swear jar. (Silverman, 2/12)
