The House Ways and Means Committee will markup several healthcare-related bills Wednesday, including some exemptions to the Affordable Care Act employer mandate and the repeal of an ACA provision regarding high cost medical expense reductions.
One of the bills would exempt tribally owned businesses from the mandate. It has received support from many Native American tribes and the National Indian Health Board, which said the employer requirement contradicts the exemption tribal members have from the individual mandate.
A Wyoming judge last year rejected a challenge to the large-employer insurance requirement and said Congress would need to explicitly exempt tribes from the mandate.
A similar bill set for markup Wednesday would exempt universities that employ student workers.
Another bill being considered would allow taxpayers to receive more deductions for medical expenses. It would allow costs exceeding 7.5% to be deducted instead of those exceeding 10%. The bill has one Democratic cosponsor.
Two pieces of legislation concern health savings accounts. One would improve access to HSAs for people who get care at Indian Health Service facilities and the other would raise the contribution limit among other changes.
Also up for consideration is a bill that would allow (PDF) Tricare-eligible veterans to pause those benefits and contribute to a health savings account. The idea has previously received some bipartisan support.
