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Congress Delivers More Relief from Obamacare Taxes

Brady: “After repealing the individual mandate in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the action we took this week will provide even more relief from Obamacare.”
January 23, 2018 — Blog   

Yesterday, President Trump signed into law a Continuing Resolution (CR) that includes major health care priorities for the American people – including delivering relief from three of the most onerous Obamacare taxes: the health insurance tax, the “Cadillac Tax,” and the medical device tax.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle – even the very Democrats who supported Obamacare – have been working to deliver relief from these taxes. Here’s why:

  • Health insurance tax – drives up monthly premiums for families and small businesses, making health insurance more expensive and more difficult to use when people need it most.
  • Cadillac tax – hurts people who get their insurance through their work – especially employees with lower incomes because it levies the same 40-percent tax on every dollar of employer-sponsored insurance beyond a certain threshold. This poorly designed tax is passed onto employees by lowering wages and discouraging the use of consumer-directed health plans, including Health Savings Accounts.
  • Medical device tax – stands in the way of developing lifesaving treatments – such pacemakers – at an affordable price. It also prevents many job creators in this crucial industry from hiring more workers to fill good-paying jobs.

After President Trump signed the CR into law, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) said:

“After repealing the individual mandate in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the action we took this week will provide even more relief from Obamacare. These taxes have long been seen as some of the most damaging taxes for families, workers, and our economy. By preventing these taxes from going into effect, this law will help lower premiums for families and give employees peace of mind that they can still get the insurance they have through work. And it will boost job creation and medical innovation.”

Looking forward, Chairman Brady added:

“We still have much more work to do to fix our nation’s broken health care system, but this law is an important step forward. Our Committee is committed to making sure Americans can get the health care that works for them. As we move toward a truly patient-centered health care system with more choices and lower costs, we will continue to look for ways to deliver targeted relief from Obamacare.”