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112th Congress, Vote 460; House of Representatives #6079

Repeal of Obamacare Act


Official Title: To repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and health care-related provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.

HR 6079: Repeal of Obamacare Act
Passed by the House July 11, 2012, 244-185 (2 abstaining).

Synopsis: The ACA was enacted in 2010, and in the ensuing years Republicans in the House introduced numerous bills to repeal, defund, or delay portions of the law, or repeal the entire ACA. HR 6079 was one of several bills intended to repeal the ACA almost entirely, although it was more in-depth than most of the other repeal bills.

HR 6079 differs slightly from other full repeal bills in that it excludes one small subsection of section 1899A of the Social Security Act. This subsection refers to Congressional oversight of the IPAB (Independent Payment Advisory Board) and it's left intact under HR 6079 in order to avoid litigation. But lawmakers explained that it would be a moot point, since HR 6079 repeals everything else about the IPAB, so the panel would no longer exist if the legislation were to pass (note that the IPAB's funding was sharply reduced in early 2014, and lawmakers in the 2015 session are considering a bill – S 141 – that would S 141 – that would dissolve the IBAP altogether).

The ACA includes provisions to reduce healthcare costs and improve patient outcomes, along with a wide range of insurance industry reforms designed to protect consumers and improve access to care. Under the ACA, health insurance sold in the individual market must be guaranteed issue as of January 2014, meaning that medical history can no longer be used to determine an applicant's eligibility or premium. In addition, all policies must cover a list of ten essential health benefits, and there can no longer be lifetime or annual benefit maximums. Carriers in the individual and small group markets must spend at least 80 percent of premium dollars on healthcare, and there are limits on how high out-of-pocket charges can be.

HR 6079 calls for repeal of the ACA, but it does not put forth any alternative proposals to bring about reform in the insurance and healthcare industries. It would essentially revert things to the way they were prior to 2010.

Similar bills that have called for full repeal of the ACA:

Several nonbinding House budget measures have also included ACA repeal.

Why supporters pushed for this bill

  • HR 6079 supporters believe that the healthcare system is better off with less government regulation, and this bill would remove a significant amount of regulation imposed by the ACA.
  • The text of HR 6079 notes that President Obama promised people they could keep their health plan if they liked it, but notes that "millions of Americans" could lose their coverage as a result of the ACA.
  • The bill also notes that individual health insurance premiums are expected to increase under the ACA, and will be $2,100 higher by 2016 than they would have been without the ACA (this is not in dispute, but it's important to note that these are "retail" premiums, before any exchange subsidies are applied; for people with incomes up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level, tax credits are available under the ACA to significantly offset the cost of coverage).
  • The ACA includes reforms to the Medicare Advantage market that were expected to result in fewer enrollees in Medicare Advantage plans. This was seen by some senior advocates as a detriment to beneficiaries (this hasn't come to pass however – Medicare Advantage enrollment has continued to climb since the passage of the ACA).
  • Obamacare opponents view the ACA as problematic for the economy and the job market; the text of the law says that the ACA is "causing great uncertainty, slowing economic growth, and limiting hiring opportunities." Thus supporters of HR 6079 believed that it would improve the country's economic outlook.

Why opponents tried to stop the bill

  • Repealing the ACA would be expensive. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected that HR 6079 would increase federal budget deficits by $109 billion over the decade from 2013 to 2022.
  • In addition, the CBO projected that under HR 6079, there would be about 60 million uninsured nonelderly people in the US by 2022, as opposed to 30 million if the ACA were left intact. This is due to a combination of reduced Medicaid eligibility, the elimination of premium subsidies that make private coverage more affordable, and also the elimination of the ACA's individual and employer mandates.
  • The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights expressed strong opposition to HR 6079, noting that "the ACA is vital to improving the health of our nation's most underserved communities-including low-income families, people of color, women, seniors, and people with disabilities." If HR 6079 were to be enacted, health insurance coverage for millions of Americans – including some of the most vulnerable populations – would be jeopardized.
  • The CBO noted that enacting HR 6079 would be complicated because it had already been 2.5 years since passage of the ACA, and several aspects of the law had already been implemented. HR 6079 does not specifically say how it would reverse these portions of the law.
07/11/2012 Status: House passed

More: select a member to see his or her other key health care votes.

Yes (244)
R Don Young AK
R Robert Aderholt AL
R Spencer Bachus AL
R Mo Brooks AL
R Martha Roby AL
R Mike Rogers AL
R Eric Crawford AR
R Tim Griffin AR
D Mike Ross AR
R Steve Womack AR
R Jeff Flake AZ
R Trent Franks AZ
R Paul Gosar AZ
R Ben Quayle AZ
R David Schweikert AZ
R Brian Bilbray CA
R Mary Bono Mack CA
R Ken Calvert CA
R John Campbell CA
R Jeff Denham CA
R David Dreier CA
R Elton Gallegly CA
R Walter Herger CA
R Duncan Hunter CA
R Darrell Issa CA
R Jerry Lewis CA
R Daniel Lungren CA
R Kevin McCarthy CA
R Tom McClintock CA
R Howard McKeon CA
R Gary Miller CA
R Devin Nunes CA
R Dana Rohrabacher CA
R Edward Royce CA
R Mike Coffman CO
R Cory Gardner CO
R Doug Lamborn CO
R Scott Tipton CO
R Sandy Adams FL
R Gus Bilirakis FL
R Vern Buchanan FL
R Ander Crenshaw FL
R Mario Diaz-Balart FL
R Connie Mack FL
R John Mica FL
R Jeff Miller FL
R Richard Nugent FL
R Bill Posey FL
R David Rivera FL
R Thomas Rooney FL
R Ileana Ros-Lehtinen FL
R Dennis Ross FL
R Steve Southerland FL
R Clifford Stearns FL
R Daniel Webster FL
R Allen West FL
R C. Young FL
R Paul Broun GA
R Phil Gingrey GA
R Tom Graves GA
R Jack Kingston GA
R Tom Price GA
R Austin Scott GA
R Lynn Westmoreland GA
R Rob Woodall GA
R Steve King IA
R Tom Latham IA
R Raúl Labrador ID
R Michael Simpson ID
R Judy Biggert IL
R Bob Dold IL
R Randy Hultgren IL
R Timothy Johnson IL
R Adam Kinzinger IL
R Donald Manzullo IL
R Peter Roskam IL
R Robert Schilling IL
R Aaron Schock IL
R John Shimkus IL
R Joe Walsh IL
R Larry Bucshon IN
R Dan Burton IN
R Mike Pence IN
R Todd Rokita IN
R Marlin Stutzman IN
R Todd Young IN
R Tim Huelskamp KS
R Lynn Jenkins KS
R Mike Pompeo KS
R Kevin Yoder KS
R Geoff Davis KY
R Brett Guthrie KY
R Harold Rogers KY
R Ed Whitfield KY
R Rodney Alexander LA
R Charles Boustany LA
R Bill Cassidy LA
R John Fleming LA
R Jeff Landry LA
R Steve Scalise LA
R Roscoe Bartlett MD
R Andy Harris MD
R Justin Amash MI
R Dan Benishek MI
R Dave Camp MI
R Bill Huizenga MI
R Candice Miller MI
R Mike Rogers MI
R Fred Upton MI
R Tim Walberg MI
R Michele Bachmann MN
R Chip Cravaack MN
R John Kline MN
R Erik Paulsen MN
R W. Akin MO
R Jo Ann Emerson MO
R Sam Graves MO
R Vicky Hartzler MO
R Billy Long MO
R Blaine Luetkemeyer MO
R Gregg Harper MS
R Alan Nunnelee MS
R Steven Palazzo MS
R Dennis Rehberg MT
R Howard Coble NC
R Renee Ellmers NC
R Virginia Foxx NC
R Walter Jones NC
D Larry Kissell NC
R Patrick McHenry NC
D Mike McIntyre NC
R Sue Myrick NC
R Rick Berg ND
R Jeff Fortenberry NE
R Adrian Smith NE
R Lee Terry NE
R Charles Bass NH
R Frank Guinta NH
R Rodney Frelinghuysen NJ
R Scott Garrett NJ
R Leonard Lance NJ
R Frank LoBiondo NJ
R Jon Runyan NJ
R Christopher Smith NJ
R Stevan Pearce NM
R Mark Amodei NV
R Joseph Heck NV
R Ann Marie Buerkle NY
R Christopher Gibson NY
R Michael Grimm NY
R Richard Hanna NY
R Nan Hayworth NY
R Peter King NY
R Tom Reed NY
R Robert Turner NY
R Steve Austria OH
R Steve Chabot OH
R Bob Gibbs OH
R Bill Johnson OH
R Jim Jordan OH
R Steven LaTourette OH
R Robert Latta OH
R James Renacci OH
R Jean Schmidt OH
R Steve Stivers OH
R Patrick Tiberi OH
R Michael Turner OH
D Dan Boren OK
R Tom Cole OK
R James Lankford OK
R Frank Lucas OK
R John Sullivan OK
R Greg Walden OR
R Lou Barletta PA
R Charles Dent PA
R Michael Fitzpatrick PA
R Jim Gerlach PA
R Mike Kelly PA
R Tom Marino PA
R Patrick Meehan PA
R Tim Murphy PA
R Joseph Pitts PA
R Todd Platts PA
R Bill Shuster PA
R Glenn Thompson PA
R Jeff Duncan SC
R Trey Gowdy SC
R Mick Mulvaney SC
R Tim Scott SC
R Joe Wilson SC
R Kristi Noem SD
R Diane Black TN
R Marsha Blackburn TN
R Scott DesJarlais TN
R John Duncan TN
R Stephen Fincher TN
R Charles Fleischmann TN
R David Roe TN
R Joe Barton TX
R Kevin Brady TX
R Michael Burgess TX
R Francisco Canseco TX
R John Carter TX
R K. Conaway TX
R John Culberson TX
R Blake Farenthold TX
R Bill Flores TX
R Louie Gohmert TX
R Kay Granger TX
R Ralph Hall TX
R Jeb Hensarling TX
R Sam Johnson TX
R Kenny Marchant TX
R Michael McCaul TX
R Randy Neugebauer TX
R Pete Olson TX
R Ronald Paul TX
R Ted Poe TX
R Pete Sessions TX
R Lamar Smith TX
R Mac Thornberry TX
R Rob Bishop UT
R Jason Chaffetz UT
D Jim Matheson UT
R Eric Cantor VA
R J. Forbes VA
R Bob Goodlatte VA
R H. Griffith VA
R Robert Hurt VA
R Edward Rigell VA
R Robert Wittman VA
R Frank Wolf VA
R Doc Hastings WA
R J. Herrera Beutler WA
R C. McMorris Rodgers WA
R David Reichert WA
R Sean Duffy WI
R Thomas Petri WI
R Reid Ribble WI
R Paul Ryan WI
R F. Sensenbrenner WI
R Shelley Capito WV
R David McKinley WV
R Cynthia Lummis WY
No (185)
Our pick
D Terri Sewell AL
D Ron Barber AZ
D Raúl Grijalva AZ
D Ed Pastor AZ
D Joe Baca CA
D Karen Bass CA
D Xavier Becerra CA
D Howard Berman CA
D Lois Capps CA
D Dennis Cardoza CA
D Judy Chu CA
D Jim Costa CA
D Susan Davis CA
D Anna Eshoo CA
D Sam Farr CA
D Bob Filner CA
D John Garamendi CA
D Janice Hahn CA
D Michael Honda CA
D Barbara Lee CA
D Zoe Lofgren CA
D Doris Matsui CA
D Jerry McNerney CA
D George Miller CA
D Grace Napolitano CA
D Nancy Pelosi CA
D Laura Richardson CA
D L. Roybal-Allard CA
D Linda Sánchez CA
D Loretta Sanchez CA
D Adam Schiff CA
D Brad Sherman CA
D Jackie Speier CA
D Fortney Stark CA
D Mike Thompson CA
D Maxine Waters CA
D Henry Waxman CA
D Lynn Woolsey CA
D Diana DeGette CO
D Ed Perlmutter CO
D Jared Polis CO
D Joe Courtney CT
D Rosa DeLauro CT
D James Himes CT
D John Larson CT
D Christopher Murphy CT
D John Carney DE
D Corrine Brown FL
D Kathy Castor FL
D Theodore Deutch FL
D Alcee Hastings FL
D D. Wasserman Schultz FL
D Frederica Wilson FL
D John Barrow GA
D Sanford Bishop GA
D Henry Johnson GA
D John Lewis GA
D David Scott GA
D Colleen Hanabusa HI
D Mazie Hirono HI
D Leonard Boswell IA
D Bruce Braley IA
D David Loebsack IA
D Jerry Costello IL
D Danny Davis IL
D Luis Gutiérrez IL
D Daniel Lipinski IL
D Mike Quigley IL
D Bobby Rush IL
D Janice Schakowsky IL
D André Carson IN
D Joe Donnelly IN
D Peter Visclosky IN
D Ben Chandler KY
D John Yarmuth KY
D Cedric Richmond LA
D Michael Capuano MA
D Barney Frank MA
D William Keating MA
D Stephen Lynch MA
D Edward Markey MA
D James McGovern MA
D Richard Neal MA
D John Olver MA
D John Tierney MA
D Niki Tsongas MA
D Elijah Cummings MD
D Donna Edwards MD
D Steny Hoyer MD
D C. Ruppersberger MD
D John Sarbanes MD
D Chris Van Hollen MD
D Michael Michaud ME
D Chellie Pingree ME
D Hansen Clarke MI
D John Conyers MI
D John Dingell MI
D Dale Kildee MI
D Sander Levin MI
D Gary Peters MI
D Keith Ellison MN
D Betty McCollum MN
D Collin Peterson MN
D Timothy Walz MN
D Russ Carnahan MO
D Wm. Clay MO
D Emanuel Cleaver MO
D Bennie Thompson MS
D George Butterfield NC
D R. Miller NC
D David Price NC
D Heath Shuler NC
D Melvin Watt NC
D Robert Andrews NJ
D Rush Holt NJ
D Frank Pallone NJ
D Bill Pascrell NJ
D Steven Rothman NJ
D Albio Sires NJ
D Martin Heinrich NM
D Ben Luján NM
D Shelley Berkley NV
D Gary Ackerman NY
D Timothy Bishop NY
D Yvette Clarke NY
D Joseph Crowley NY
D Eliot Engel NY
D Brian Higgins NY
D Maurice Hinchey NY
D Kathleen Hochul NY
D Steve Israel NY
D Nita Lowey NY
D Carolyn Maloney NY
D Carolyn McCarthy NY
D Gregory Meeks NY
D Jerrold Nadler NY
D William Owens NY
D Charles Rangel NY
D José Serrano NY
D Louise Slaughter NY
D Paul Tonko NY
D Edolphus Towns NY
D Nydia Velázquez NY
D Marcia Fudge OH
D Marcy Kaptur OH
D Dennis Kucinich OH
D Tim Ryan OH
D Betty Sutton OH
D Earl Blumenauer OR
D Suzanne Bonamici OR
D Peter DeFazio OR
D Kurt Schrader OR
D Jason Altmire PA
D Robert Brady PA
D Mark Critz PA
D Michael Doyle PA
D Chaka Fattah PA
D Tim Holden PA
D Allyson Schwartz PA
D David Cicilline RI
D James Langevin RI
D James Clyburn SC
D Steve Cohen TN
D Jim Cooper TN
D Henry Cuellar TX
D Lloyd Doggett TX
D Charles Gonzalez TX
D Al Green TX
D Gene Green TX
D Rubén Hinojosa TX
D Sheila Jackson Lee TX
D Eddie Johnson TX
D Silvestre Reyes TX
D Gerald Connolly VA
D James Moran VA
D Robert Scott VA
D Peter Welch VT
D Norman Dicks WA
D Rick Larsen WA
D Jim McDermott WA
D Adam Smith WA
D Tammy Baldwin WI
D Ron Kind WI
D Gwen Moore WI
D Nick Rahall WV
Not Voting (2)
R Jo Bonner AL
D Jesse Jackson IL