Lawmakers Call for ACA Health Insurance Tax Delay or Repeal

September 20, 2017

The Honorable Paul D. Ryan
Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Democratic Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Speaker Ryan and Leader Pelosi,

There is bipartisan agreement that Congress must act to stabilize and strengthen health insurance marketplaces across the country. For this reason, we request you work with the House Ways and Means Committee to include in appropriate legislation that will become law this month, a further delay or repeal of the Section 9010 of the Affordable Care Act. Time is of the essence, and we must act quickly to provide much-needed relief for our constituents.

As you know, section 9010 of the Affordable Care Act levies a tax, commonly referred to as the Health Insurance Tax (HIT), on health insurance premiums. The tax applies to fully-insured health insurance coverage and is passed on to consumers in the form of higher rates. Congress delayed the HIT through 2017 but the tax will return in 2018 and it will be larger than ever before. A new report from the research firm Oliver Wyman estimates that the HIT “will increase premiums by 2.6 percent in 2018 and between 2.5 percent and 2.7 percent in subsequent years.” In 2018, this amounts to $158 in the individual market, $500 per family the in the small group market and $540 in the large group market. State Medicaid programs will incur an additional cost of $181 for each of their insured Medicaid enrollees in 2018. The tax also affects seniors, with Medicare Advantage enrollees in 2018 paying an estimated $245. These costs are unnecessary and unacceptable.

The effort to permanently repeal the HIT has enjoyed broad bipartisan support for years. We must act now to provide immediate, targeted relief. As we work across the aisle to fix America’s health care system, we urge you to consider delaying the HIT for 2018 so we can stabilize the individual markets and support hardworking American families.

Thank you for your consideration of this commonsense request and for your leadership on behalf of the American people.

Sincerely,

KRISTI NOEM
Member of Congress

KYRSTEN SINEMA
Member of Congress

MIKE KELLY
Member of Congress

TOM O’HALLERAN
Member of Congress

TIM MURPHY
Member of Congress

BRADLEY S. SCHNEIDER
Member of Congress

JOSH GOTTHEIMER
Member of Congress

LEONARD LANCE
Member of Congress

MARKWAYNE MULLIN
Member of Congress

COLLIN C. PETERSON
Member of Congress

JIM RENACCI
Member of Congress

AMI BERA, MD
Member of Congress

TOM REED
Member of Congress

PATRICK MEEHAN
Member of Congress

JULIA BROWNLEY
Member of Congress

CHARLIE CRIST
Member of Congress

LUKE MESSER
Member of Congress

ANN McLANE KUSTER
Member of Congress

LOU BARLETTA
Member of Congress

SEAN PATRICK MALONEY
Member of Congress

MIKE GALLAGHER
Member of Congress

DAVID B. McKINLEY, P.E.
Member of Congress

DAVID SCOTT
Member of Congress

TIM WALBERG
Member of Congress

ELISE M. STEFANIK
Member of Congress

STEPHANIE MURPHY
Member of Congress

JOHN J. FASO
Member of Congress

TONY CÁRDENAS
Member of Congress

BARBARA COMSTOCK
Member of Congress

CARLOS CURBELO
Member of Congress

SCOTT H. PETERS
Member of Congress

DARIN LaHOOD
Member of Congress

BILL FLORES
Member of Congress

THOMAS R. SUOZZI
Member of Congress

EVAN JENKINS
Member of Congress

RUBEN J. KIHUEN
Member of Congress

JOHN KATKO
Member of Congress

BOB GOODLATTE
Member of Congress

JOHN RATCLIFFE
Member of Congress

DAVID G. VALADAO
Member of Congress

JASON LEWIS
Member of Congress

RYAN COSTELLO
Member of Congress

ED ROYCE
Member of Congress

BLAINE LUETKEMEYER
Member of Congress

JACKY ROSEN
Member of Congress

WILL HURD
Member of Congress