House GOP weighs repeal of health mandate in tax bill

Republicans are weighing a repeal of a key tenet of the Obama-era health care law in their tax overhaul as the House's tax-writing committee begins work on shaping the bill.

Speaker Paul Ryan said Sunday Republicans are discussing whether their tax plan should include a repeal of the Obama health law's requirement that people have insurance coverage or face a penalty, a step pushed by President Donald Trump but seen by some GOP lawmakers as possibly imperiling a much-needed legislative victory.

It would be another shot at further undermining the Affordable Care Act after repeated failures by the GOP-led Congress to repeal and replace the law. That is a step Trump has demanded and Republicans promised would happen after President Barack Obama left office and Republicans won the presidency and have control of Congress.

The House Ways and Means Committee begins work on the tax rewrite Monday, with the goal of full House action before Thanksgiving. The committee chairman, Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, has said that including a repeal of the health law's individual mandate would be politically problematic, given that the Senate has failed to pass health legislation in Trump's first year.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/house-gop-weighs-repeal-of-health-mandate-in-tax-bill/ar-AAuuj7O?li=BBnb7Kz