Senate leaders have unveiled a plan to raise the debt ceiling and end the government shutdown that makes relatively minor changes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to a report from The Hill.
The deal to fund the government involves ramped-up income verification requirements for people applying for subsidized health insurance through the PPACA marketplaces, according to the report. Earlier reports indicated the legislation — which would fund the government through Jan. 15 and raise the debt ceiling through February— might include a provision to repeal a $63 per person transitional reinsurance fee for fully insured and self-insured group health plans. That change is not included in the Senate deal, according to The Hill.
The proposal also leaves out provisions House conservatives have pushed for, such as a one-year delay for the individual mandate. The House introduced its own proposal to end the shutdown, which originally would have repealed the PPACA medical device tax and prohibited health insurance subsidies for federal lawmakers.
However, Republicans dropped the provision to repeal the device tax and also scrapped stricter income verification requirements for people receiving subsidized health insurance under the reform law. House lawmakers ended up not voting on the measure yesterday because it didn't have enough support to pass.
Congress must raise the country's $16.7 trillion debt ceiling by Oct. 17 or face a default on its credit.
The federal government shut down after House Republicans and the Senate failed to pass a spending resolution earlier this month. House Republicans demanded that any spending bill include a provision to defund the PPACA, but the Democrat-led Senate and President Obama refused to consider any measure that would halt the law's implementation.
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Developing Senate Budget Proposal Has Low Impact for PPACA