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politics and politicians Title: GOP Sours on Obamacare Repeal; Next Attempt Unlikely Before 2019 House Republicans wont renew their effort to repeal the ACA and its taxes this year, likely delaying another attempt until 2019, lawmakers said March 27. The two committees responsible for designing the Houses failed Affordable Care Act repeal legislation have no plans to try again, Reps. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said. With midterm elections coming in 2018, the Republican effort to repeal the ACA is likely delayed until 2019, Collins told Bloomberg BNA. The wounds are so deep and so raw, Collins said of the failure to pass the repeal bill. This year well work on things we can come together on, like tax reform. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) spoke with President Donald Trump over the weekend about his legislative agenda and renewing the push to repeal the ACA, a spokeswoman for Ryans office told Bloomberg BNA. Ryan is expected to talk to House Republicans about the issue the week of March 27. However, a spokesman for the House Energy and Commerce Committee, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss committee issues, told Bloomberg BNA the panel has a full agenda ahead and doesnt expect to return to repeal anytime soon. Some lawmakers say the only path forward for a health care bill is a bipartisan one. The leader of the moderate Republican caucus, the Tuesday Group, called on his colleagues to work with Democrats on shared health goals, such as repealing the ACAs 40 percent excise tax on portions of high-cost health plans, known as the Cadillac tax. Continued Push for Repeal Conservative groups like Heritage Action for America, which opposed the House repeal bill, told Bloomberg BNA theyre going to continue pushing for repeal of the ACA in 2017. Several Republican lawmakers in recent days have also touted their own signature health bills. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) told reporters he thinks the Senate could now act on some version of the legislation he introduced with moderate Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). He said any legislation coming through the Senate should have bipartisan support. Cassidy, however, said he doesnt expect movement on a repeal bill in the near future. He predicted premiums for plans sold on the individual marketplace will rise considerably in coming years, forcing lawmakers to act. I think some of the things that the Obama administration did to try to keep premiums down the Trump administration simply wont do, he said, referring to the ACAs payments to insurers that take on costly beneficiaries. Cassidy, along with three other senators, introduced a bill in January that would keep the ACAs taxes and allow states to decide if they want to keep the health laws expanded federal Medicaid funding. The legislation would lift the ACAs individual mandate but would automatically enroll Americans in an insurance plan they can opt out of, if they choose. Not everyone in the Senate is preaching bipartisanship as the only way to pass a health reform bill. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told reporters he doesnt expect any Democrats to support an ACA repeal bill or for Republicans to look for fixes to the health law. He said Republicans can unite and pass a repeal bill by party lines. I dont think weve spent enough time figuring out a solution, he said. Pauls sentiment is echoed by conservative groups. Dan Holler, vice president of Heritage Action, told Bloomberg BNA that Republicans cant wait until 2019 to act. He said they need to come together on a repeal bill. Americans entrusted Republicans to pursue an ambitious agenda, not an easy one, he said. Unclear is the future of the budget reconciliation bill Republicans were going to use to pass the House ACA repeal bill. The reconciliation process allows passage of legislation that affects the federal budget by a simple majority, which Republicans currently hold in the Senate. If Republicans use the reconciliation bill originally slated for their repeal bill to pass a tax reform package, then theyll need to pass another budget bill in order to take another shot at the ACA. Pushing for Bipartisanship Some moderate Republicans dont want to revisit the budget reconciliation process for ACA repeal at all. Rather, they said, work with Democrats to overhaul the health law. Rep. Charles Dent (R-Pa.) and Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) told reporters March 27 that Republicans need to reach out to Democrats on shared goals. Dent said hes working with some freshman Democrats. Dent was a major figure in the Houses effort to pass an ACA repeal billand its downfall. As head of the moderate Tuesday Group, he pushed for temporarily keeping federal funds for states that expanded their Medicaid programs under the ACA and for refundable tax credits to help poor Americans purchase insurance. Democrats, however, have largely different priorities in their health-care agenda than their Republican colleagues. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, told Blooomberg BNA hes willing to reach across the aisle to extend health insurance coverage to more Americans to buttress public health insurance programs, not gut them. Im not willing to meet them halfway on their lousy repeal, Pallone said. I want to expand coverage and allow more benefits and make for less out-of-pocket costs. Thats where we have to go. 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