The Aftermath of the Government Shutdown
With the government shutdown ending after 3 days, some of you might be wondering about how it affected your healthcare or even what resolution was passed. From a bird’s eye view, it seems that the health industry might not have been affected from the shutdown, but major funding was awarded. There also came major tax cuts that could give you lighter medical bills. The shutdown could affect you so today I’m going to discuss the aftermath of the government shutdown.
What Is Subject to Change?
On the top of the agenda for House Republicans is the repeal of Obamacare. With the multiple attempts to repeal pieces of Obamacare, such as the individual mandate, this comes as no surprise. Why are Republicans pushing to repeal the Affordable Care Act? Well, it’s not affordable, at least for the middle class. As prices rise yearly without subsidies, it has become more and more difficult to cover the cost of health insurance. With the individual mandate in place, if you do not have health insurance you would receive a fine of $2,000. These and other problems have had both political parties neck-to-neck, which led to no solution, only a stall.
Government Shutdown Takeaways
After the 3 days of the shutdown, a bill was introduced that was able to prevent the shutdown from lasting any longer. Thus, the bill, approved by President Trump, will fund the government through February 8th. What else was in the short-term bill? An extension of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) was installed for the next 6 years. CHIP faced a major dilemma in that all its funding was depleted. In addition to CHIP, the short-term bill addresses the tax bill, introduced in December, which cut $338 billion in healthcare spending. Three major taxes imposed by the ACA were delayed: the tax on medical devices, the Cadillac tax, and the health insurer tax. For more information on what each tax consists of, click here.
Since the bill ends February 8th, you should keep track of Congress’s next moves following the next meeting. Furthermore, there could be more tax cuts, and your healthcare could experience some changes. Without knowing the plans of the meeting on the 8th, we are left in the dark. As these changes unfold, remember to check with your healthcare provider or insurance agent to see how possible changes will affect you.
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