As they prepare to disclose a plan to replace the Affordable Care Act entirely, House Republicans are considering making relatively small changes to the healthcare law, according to The Hill.
On Friday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing on five bills that would make minor changes to the ACA, such as changing the documentation that is required to obtain coverage, or changing the way insurers can use an individual's age to set premiums, according to the report.
House Republicans still aim to repeal and replace President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law, and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) will deliver details on the long-awaited ACA replacement plan later this month.
The measures would benefit health insurers' bottom lines amid significant financial losses incurred by many of them under the ACA marketplaces so far. One bill would allow insurers to charge higher premiums for older people to cover the higher cost of their care. Another would require people who sign up for ACA plans in the extended enrollment periods to show documentation proving they qualify for coverage before they enroll instead of after, and a third bill would reduce the grace period for enrollees who don't pay their premiums from 90 days to 30 days before losing their coverage.
When asked whether the replacement task force and the consideration of smaller bills to amend the ACA pose a conflict, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) reiterated that the full replacement plan would not actually be turned into law.
"Remember, we're not intending to move this piece through the committee or the House," said Rep. Upton, according to the report. "It's a discussion document. It's a place where we think most of our colleagues can be, principles that we stand for."
There has been discussion of bringing the smaller-scale bills to a markup in committee before Congress' August recess, and time has been slotted to do so, though action is not guaranteed. Lobbyists say the House Ways and Means Committee could move forward with a hearing on the bills related to healthcare taxes next week. However, it is unclear how far the bills will actually go, as Democrats oppose them.