Over the course of the last six years in Washington, D.C., one of the primary goals of the Republican Party has been to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Since the Republican Party gained control of the House of Representatives in 2010, there have been literally dozens of votes to repeal the ACA. The Senate joined this effort when the Republicans took control of it in 2014. A repeal bill was even vetoed by President Obama in 2015. However, in 2016, this effort gained new momentum when Donald Trump won the Presidency, promising to repeal it during the campaign.
But a funny thing happened on the way to repeal — many of the provisions turned out to be very popular, and 20 million Americans now have health insurance due to the ACA. Total repeal would create a huge political problem; and President-elect Trump has called for retention of some of the provisions of the ACA.
The new administration and the Republican leadership must now develop a consensus bill that keeps parts of the old bill, does not negatively impact the public, and accomplishes what the Republican-controlled Congress seeks to do. To date, there have been many ideas floated, but the American people appear to be a long way from any new complete legislative package. Over the next year we can expect hearings, position papers, debates, and task force reports on the subject. It is unclear if the Democrats will assist or only oppose whatever the Republicans do.
Over the course of the next week, Akerman will publish a series of blog posts that discuss various subject areas that will be impacted in the revision/repeal of the ACA. Our goal is to provide you with insights on various subgroups of the healthcare sector and what outcomes we foresee in each, whether you interact as a payer, a provider, integrated delivery system, or an ancillary business.