{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-reintroduces-obamacare-repeal-passed-republicans-last-congress/", "Dr. Rand Paul Reintroduces Obamacare Repeal Passed by Republicans in Last Congress", "2017-03-09", "2017", "2017-03", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Rand Paul", "P000603", "www.paul.senate.gov", "paul", "https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 This week, U.S. Senator and physician Rand Paul reintroduced the same legislation, with an updated timeline, to repeal major components of Obamacare that an overwhelming Republican majority sent to President Obama\u2019s desk in January 2016. Congressman Jim Jordan (OH) has introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.\n\nLast week, Dr. Paul was joined by U.S. Senators Mike Lee and Ted Cruz in calling for the 2015 reconciliation bill to be the minimum standard for repeal moving forward.\n\n\u201cThe Republican Party is unified on Obamacare repeal,\u201d said Dr. Paul. \u201cWe can honor our promise right away by passing the same language we acted on in the last Congress. Then, we can have a separate vote on replacement legislation that will deliver lower costs, better care, and greater access to the American people.\u201d\n\nIn January, Dr. Paul introduced the free-market based Obamacare Replacement Act (S. 222), which empowers Americans to: 1.) Choose inexpensive insurance free of government dictates; 2.) Save unlimited amounts in a health savings account (HSA) and have wider options for using those funds; 3.) Buy insurance across state lines; and 4.) Join together in voluntary associations to gain the leverage of being part of a large insurance pool.\n\nYou can find a one-page summary of Dr. Paul\u2019s Obamacare Replacement Act HERE.\n\nYou can read S. 554, the Obamacare Repeal Act, HERE, and you can find more details below.\n\nS. 554, the Obamacare Repeal Act:\n\nRepeals the Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF), which gives $2 billion a year to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to spend however they like. The PPHF has also been called the \u201cObamacare Slush Fund.\u201d\n\nEliminates the penalties associated with Obamacare\u2019s individual and employer mandates to purchase health coverage, effectively ending the mandates.\n\nRepeals the Medical Device Tax beginning in 2018.\n\nRepeals the Cadillac Tax in 2020, stopping it from going into effect.\n\nPrevents the HHS Secretary from making payments under Obamacare\u2019s reinsurance program, which is one of the ways the law has provided a bailout to insurance companies.\n\nRepeals Obamacare\u2019s Premium Tax Credits and Cost-Sharing Subsidies, effective after 2019.\n\nRepeals Obamacare\u2019s Penalties on Health Savings Accounts \u2013 Obamacare placed new limits and restrictions on contributions to HSAs, MSAs, HRAs, and FSAs. It also restricted the allowable expenses for which a consumer can use these accounts.\n\nRepeals Other Obamacare Taxes \u2013 Includes repeals of the health insurance tax (HIT), the annual fee on manufacture and import of pharmaceuticals, the Medicare surtax, excise tax on indoor tanning, net investment tax, remuneration, and economic substance doctrine. It would also restore the medical expenses deduction.\n\nEliminates eligibility for the Medicaid expansion as of 2020 and the associated enhanced federal matching rate. The bill would also repeal the Medicaid disproportionate share hospital reductions.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T21:30:05Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-dr-rand-paul-reintroduces-obamacare-repeal-passed-republicans-last-congress/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 6.445682141929865, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}