While House Republicans have made no secret of their desire to appeal President Obama’s health reform law – the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), passed in 2010. Surprising to some, the one aspect that seems to be off limits for legislative action is the most controversial – the mandate for every individual to carry health insurance.
The individual mandate is the key aspect being decided by the U.S. Supreme Court this summer and some speculate that the GOP doesn’t want to do anything that may give the Court a reason not to strike it down.
GOP leaders have announced that they are readying an alternative health reform plan, which may indicate that they want to be ready if the PPACA is thrown out by the Court.
House Republicans have voted to defund several programs which are part of the PPACA including the CLASS Act, and the IRS reporting requirement for small businesses, but the individual mandate has been left intact.
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), while an outspoken opponent of the health reform law says he doesn’t want the mandate repealed by Congress. “It might scramble the court’s thinking and I want to see the court rule,” said King. Instead, he said he’d rather see the House adopt a nonbinding resolution to declare the mandate unconstitutional.
