Health Care Provisions Differ in Senate and House Tax Bills

The Senate, on a 51 to 49 vote, passed its tax reform bill in the early hours of Saturday, December 2, containing numerous provisions impacting health care.  Click here for the 479-page Senate tax bill (last minute floor amendments are not included). Click here for a Washington Post summary of some of the health care provisions. The House passed its version on November 16.

Senate and House leaders have begun work to reconcile the differences with hopes of passing a final bill before Christmas.

The Senate version repeals the individual mandate requiring the purchase of health insurance; the House version does not. To gain support for the mandate repeal, the Senate Majority Leader has agreed to bring up for a vote the agreement previously negotiated by Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Patty Murray (D-WA) to fund the cost-sharing reduction payments for two years. Click here for the updated Congressional Budget Office analysis of the passage of the cost-sharing reductions and the repeal of the individual mandate.

The House version would include interest on private activity bonds in the taxpayer’s gross income. The Senate version does not include a comparable provision. Spooner Health of Spooner, Wisconsin, spoke to Wisconsin Public Radio about the importance of tax-exempt financing for Critical Access Hospitals.