Senate to Vote on Dr. Rand Paul’s Obamacare Repeal Amendment Today

WASHINGTON, July 26 -- The office of Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., issued the following news release:

Late last night, U.S. Senator and physician Rand Paul reintroduced the Obamacare repeal legislation passed by Congress in 2015 as an amendment to the American Healthcare Act of 2017 [HR 1628].

The Obamacare Repeal Reconciliation Act [Amendment No. 271], a crucial piece of legislation in the Obamacare repeal process, will be voted on by the Senate today.

Dr. Paul has led the fight for a clean repeal of Obamacare, and previously introduced the Obamacare Repeal Act [S. 554] in March of this year. He also has introduced his own replacement plan to provide a patient-centered, free-market solution to healthcare reform, and been a leading advocate for Association Health Plans.

"I've led the fight to vote on a full, clean repeal of Obamacare, and am pleased the Senate has heeded my call to vote on what we already passed in 2015," said Dr. Paul. "Republicans promised to repeal Obamacare, and as we move forward in this process, I urge them to join me in supporting a clean repeal of as much of this disastrous law as possible."

In remarks (https://www.facebook.com/SenatorRandPaul/posts/1616851961700934) yesterday, Dr. Paul reiterated his support for any amendments offering a clean repeal of Obamacare's mandates and taxes, without new spending and bailouts.

You can view the amendment text attached or a summary below.

Amendment No. 271, the Obamacare Repeal Reconciliation Act:

* Repeals the Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF), which gives $2 billion a year to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to spend however they like. The PPHF has also been called the "Obamacare Slush Fund."

* Eliminates the penalties associated with Obamacare's individual and employer mandates to purchase health coverage, effectively ending the mandates.

* Repeals the Medical Device Tax beginning in 2018.

* Repeals the Cadillac Tax in 2020, stopping it from going into effect.

* Prevents the HHS Secretary from making payments under Obamacare's reinsurance program, which is one of the ways the law has provided a bailout to insurance companies.

* Repeals Obamacare's Premium Tax Credits and Cost-Sharing Subsidies, effective after 2019.

* Repeals Obamacare's Penalties on Health Savings Accounts - Obamacare placed new limits and restrictions on contributions to HSAs, MSAs, HRAs, and FSAs. It also restricted the allowable expenses for which a consumer can use these accounts.

* Repeals Other Obamacare Taxes - Includes repeals of the health insurance tax (HIT), the annual fee on manufacture and import of pharmaceuticals, the Medicare surtax, excise tax on indoor tanning, net investment tax, remuneration, and economic substance doctrine. It would also restore the medical expenses deduction.

* Eliminates eligibility for the Medicaid expansion as of 2020 and the associated enhanced federal matching rate. The bill would also repeal the Medicaid disproportionate share hospital reductions.

* Defunds Planned Parenthood and contains pro-life protections for tax credits through prohibiting federal funding of abortions that do not meet the Hyde amendment exception for federal payment.