Republicans’ Tax Plan A Mixed Bag For Health Care

The Associated Press: GOP Tax Plan May Offer Little Aid For Many In Middle Class
House Republicans have stressed that the tax plan they unveiled Thursday is tailored to benefit America's middle class. Just how much it would remains uncertain based on the details that have been provided so far. What is clear is that many of the benefits for the middle class could dwindle over time, even while companies and wealthy individuals could enjoy lasting tax advantages. (Boak, 11/2)

The New York Times: Who Wins And Who Loses From The Republican Tax Plan
Under the Republican plan, the deduction for medical expenses would be eliminated. This currently applies to taxpayers, spouses or other dependents with health expenses that exceed a tenth of the taxpayer’s income. AARP, which advocates for retirees, said that they strongly opposed the repeal of the deduction and said that doing so would impose a “health tax” on the oldest and sickest Americans. (Rappeport, 11/2)

Modern Healthcare: House GOP Tax Cut Bill Has Pluses And Pitfalls For Healthcare Stakeholders 
Healthcare companies, executives and professionals could enjoy lower business and personal taxes while facing reduced revenue due to Medicare and Medicaid cuts that may be used to pay for the tax reductions, under the House Republican tax reform bill released Thursday. The 429-page Tax Cuts and Jobs Act—which congressional Republicans hope to pass quickly through the expedited budget reconciliation process with little or no Democratic support—would slash the corporate tax rate from 35% to 20%. That would benefit profitable companies like UnitedHealth Group, HCA and Universal Health Services, according to an analysis by Mizuho Securities. (Meyer, 11/2)

CQ: House Bill Affects Medical Expense, Drug Industry Tax Breaks
The House Republican tax proposal would repeal a tax credit meant to spur research spending on treatment for rare diseases. The tax bill (HR 1) as released Thursday, would repeal the orphan drug tax credit beginning in 2018. Drug manufacturers currently can claim a 50 percent tax credit on some costs of clinical research and testing of treatments for certain rare medical conditions under the 1983 Orphan Drug Act. (McIntire, 11/2)

Kaiser Health News: House Tax Bill Would Scrap Deduction For Medical Expenses
The tax bill unveiled by Republicans in the House on Thursday would not, as had been rumored, eliminate the tax penalty for failure to have health insurance. But it would eliminate a decades-old deduction for people with very high medical costs. The controversial bill is an effort by Republicans to revamp the nation’s tax code and provide dramatic tax cuts for business and individuals. However, its future is not yet clear because Republicans, who control both the House and Senate, appear divided on key measures. (Rovner, 11/2)

Politico Pro: Tax Bill's Plan To Kill Medical Expense Deduction Raises Political Stakes
House Republicans have proposed eliminating a medical expense tax deduction popular with Americans with high medical costs, one of several political landmines the GOP is touching in tax reform. The deduction is used by comparatively few tax filers, but its impact can be significant for Americans with large medical bills, including nursing home expenses, insurance premiums paid with after-tax dollars or other medical tabs. (Haberkorn and Wilhelm, 11/2)

Stat: GOP Tax Plan Would End Student Loan Deduction Used By Young Doctors
Newly minted doctors and other health care workers may lose a critical tax deduction under the tax code overhaul House Republican leaders unveiled Thursday. The proposal repeals the student loan interest deduction — a policy that helped more than 12 million Americans who racked up education loans save up to $2,500 on their tax bills in 2015. The popular policy doesn’t require taxpayers to itemize their deductions to claim it — instead, it’s available to anyone paying interest on either private or public student loans who makes less than $80,000 in a year. (Mershon, 11/2)

Stat: 7 Ways Biopharma Would Win — And Lose — Under The New Tax Bill
Biopharma can find plenty to celebrate — and a few things to despair over — in the new Republican plan to rewrite the tax code. The long awaited “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” unveiled as a House bill on Thursday, will likely still be revised significantly. But so far, here are the seven provisions with the biggest implications for the drug industry. (Robbins, 11/2)

Kaiser Health News: House Republicans Aim To Yank Tax Credits For Orphan Drugs
As part of a sweeping tax reform bill, House Republicans on Thursday proposed eliminating billions of dollars in corporate tax credits that have played a key role in the booming “orphan drug” industry. For more than three decades, pharmaceutical and biomedical companies have claimed a 50 percent tax credit for the cost of clinical trials on orphan drugs, or those that treat rare diseases affecting fewer than 200,000 people. (Tribble, 11/2)

The Hill: Tax Bill Will Not Seek Repeal Of Individual Health Insurance Mandate 
The tax reform bill to be released Thursday will not include a repeal of ObamaCare's individual mandate, sources say, despite President Trump proposing the idea on Wednesday. Repealing the mandate would introduce a whole new area of controversy into the bill, and many Republicans think tax reform is hard enough without adding in health care. (Sullivan, 11/2)

The Hill: Trump Still Pushing For ObamaCare Mandate Repeal In Tax Bill 
President Trump told House Republicans in a meeting Thursday that he still wants to repeal ObamaCare's individual mandate in tax reform, perhaps in the Senate, according to two lawmakers in attendance.  "He just said he liked the idea and he had asked the senators about it and they said they were considering it," said Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.), who was in attendance at the meeting of House leaders and Ways and Means Committee members with Trump at the White House. (Sullivan, 11/2)