House Approves Bill That Would Repeal Health Reform Law

January 20, 2011 — The House on Wednesday voted 245-189 to approve legislation (HR 2) that would repeal the federal health reform law (PL 111-148), the Wall Street Journal reports. Three members of the Democratic caucus who opposed the overhaul in March 2010 -- Reps. Dan Boren (Okla.), Mike McIntyre (N.C.) and Mike Ross (Ark.) -- joined all 242 GOP members in favor of the repeal (Adamy/Bendavid, Wall Street Journal, 1/20). The vote came at the end of a two-day debate on the bill, during which Republicans and Democrats sought to highlight the reform law's benefits and shortcomings.

The repeal bill has little chance of being considered in the Democratic-controlled Senate, the Washington Post reports. President Obama also has promised to veto the bill if it reaches his desk (Goldstein/Aizenman, Washington Post, 1/20). Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will seek to force the upper chamber to vote on the House-approved repeal bill, according to a GOP Senate leadership aide, Roll Call reports (Stanton, Roll Call, 1/19).

Next Steps Although the repeal bill is "destined to die" in the Senate, House Republicans are poised to wield their newly acquired power in the chamber to launch a long-term strategy to dismantle the law, Politico reports (Haberkorn/Budoff Brown, Politico, 1/19). Policy experts say that GOP members and their supporters are more likely to favor smaller, piecemeal measures than a larger package that would try to resolve their issues with the law at once (Nather, Politico, 1/20).

According to the AP/Chicago Tribune, four House committees -- the Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, Education and Workforce and Judiciary -- will be tasked with proposing alternatives to the health reform law. The panels will attempt to compromise the law by first addressing some of the law's unpopular provisions and replacing them with GOP-favored initiatives like medical malpractice laws (AP/Chicago Tribune, 1/20). Boehner said that the Republican leaders of the four committees are not working under a timeline to introduce replacement legislation to the law, The Hill's "Healthwatch" reports. "I don't know that we need artificial deadlines set up for the committees," he said, adding, "We expect them to act in an official way, allowing all of their members on their committees to be heard -- Democrats and Republicans" (Millman, "Healthwatch," The Hill, 1/19).