The House Ways and Means Committee has approved two measures aimed at repealing portions of Obamacare.
If passed, the two bills will repeal the medical device tax and the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). Both measures are expected to make it to the House floor for a vote during the week of June 15,
The Hill is reporting.
"I know this is a topic where a lot of us don't see eye to eye. But I’m happy to say a lot of these bills have broad, bipartisan support," committee chairman Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin said in his
prepared remarks. "I’d like to think they’re just common sense."
The medical device tax bill passed in the committee 25-14,
according to The Washington Times.
"It’s an iron law of economics that when you tax something, you get less of it," Ryan added. "So we’ve really got our wires crossed here. We want more medical devices. What we want less of is this bureaucratic meddling.”
The 2.3 percent medical device tax has faced critics from both Republicans and Democrats as something that is hindering medical innovation. IPAB also has faced bipartisan opposition.
Despite the bipartisan support for the measures, there were also plenty of Democratic critics.
According to the The Hill, Michigan Democratic Rep. Sandy Levin, who is the ranking Democrat on the committee, said that the medical device tax "reflects the majority's objective to unravel the [Affordable Care Act]."
Since the medical device tax is supposed to help pay for Obamacare and IPAB is supposed to help save money, some Democrats want to find other ways to help fund ObamaCare.
"Money doesn't grow on trees," California Democratic Rep. Xavier Becerra told The Hill. "Just about every member would say, 'Lets go forward and undo the tax,' if, as some of the members on this side have said, we come up with a pay-for."
California Democratic Rep. Linda Sanchez, who cosponsored the IPAB repeal, praised Ryan "for finally agreeing to tweak and not repeal the Affordable Care Act," The Hill reported.
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