House Republicans Consider Repealing Obamacare’s Employer Mandate

House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) floated repealing Obamacare’s employer mandate on Tuesday.

Rep. Brady told reporters that House Republicans have discussed whether to repeal or delay Obamacare’s employer mandate. Brady also said that he has discussed the proposal with Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar.

“We’ve discussed that with him as well as committee members, so yeah, there is that discussion, and I’d like to see us make progress there,” Brady suggested.

The Affordable Care Act imposes a penalty on businesses with more than 50 full-time employees that do not offer their workers health insurance.

Brady argued, “We want to make sure our businesses aren’t caught up in some sort of fines or punitive measures for the past three years. I think the goal would be to delay or repeal it in total, but retroactive as well.”

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act repealed Obamacare’s individual mandate, but many Republicans have argued that Congress should continue working to repeal and replace Obamacare.

The Trump White House budget proposal calls for Congress to pass the Graham-Cassidy Obamacare block-grant repeal bill “as soon as possible.”

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) on Tuesday called for an “incremental” approach to health care reform rather than a comprehensive Obamacare repeal plan such as the Graham-Cassidy bill or the House-passed American Health Care Act (AHCA).