Dive Brief:
- SHRM is appealing to Congress to maintain the employer healthcare system’s effectiveness while it attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. On Jan. 12, the Republican-led Senate took the first steps toward repealing the ACA by passing a budget resolution for fiscal year 2017.
- In a letter to Congress following the Senate vote on the resolution, SHRM urged the House to maintain, among other measures, the flexibility and affordability employer plans have under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and to repeal the 40% excise tax on high-end healthcare plans, known as the “Cadillac Tax.”
- In the letter, Michael P. Aitken, SHRM's vice president of government affairs, also wrote that SHRM looks forward to working with congressional leaders on enacting "effective" and "responsible" healthcare reforms.
Dive Insight:
SHRM’s letter should resonate with Republican lawmakers. Some of the law's most stringent provisions burden employers, like the “Cadillac Tax,” tracking and reporting of health-plan participants, and per-employee penalties for non-compliance.
SHRM is rightfully calling for “effective and responsible” ACA reforms. About 2.6 million Americans stand to lose their jobs without an immediate and sensible alternative plan, and while predictions vary, millions more could lose or be unable to afford their coverage.
So far, neither Republicans nor President-elect Donald Trump have released exact details of an ACA replacement.
