A bipartisan bill to help health insurance companies avoid fees under ObamaCare is now backed by a majority of House lawmakers, its sponsors announced Wednesday.
The bill would repeal an ObamaCare provision commonly called the “health insurance tax” (HIT), which charges insurers an annual fee to help pay for the healthcare law.
{mosads}Rep. Charles Boustany Jr. (R-La.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), who introduced the bill in February, announced Wednesday that they have reached 218 co-sponsors, which they hope will quickly lead to a full House vote.
“I am proud to reach this important milestone and look forward to an expeditious consideration and passage of this important legislation through the House of Representatives,” Boustany wrote in a statement.
The bill has six Democratic co-sponsors: Patrick Murphy (Fla.), Collin Peterson (Minn.), Brad Ashford (Neb.), Julia Brownley (Calif.) and Gwen Graham (Fla.). Murphy is running for Senate.
The health insurance tax has been at the center of a years-long lobbying campaign by insurers and business groups, including a coalition called the Stop the HIT.
That organization, which was formed in 2011, is seizing on the bill’s new momentum. Leaders of the Stop the HIT Coalition sent letters to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday urging them to bring the bill up for a vote.
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), a member of the House leadership team, said in an interview Wednesday the bill should be considered the “sooner the better.”
“I think it would pass the House without a doubt. It’s one of those things that’s got a lot of bipartisan support to it,” Cole said, adding that he has not heard specific discussions among the leadership office about planning a vote.
“Reaching 218 co-sponsors is an important milestone that adds to the growing momentum in Congress to repeal the HIT,” the insurer trade group, America’s Health Insurance Plans, wrote in a statement.
The tax, which costs a total of $145 billion, gradually increases during the rollout of the law. While individuals are not directly taxed, critics of the provision argue that insurers are forced to pass along the burden through higher premiums.
A similar measure was introduced in the Senate during the budget-drafting process earlier this month, co-sponsored by Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Pat Roberts (R-Kan.).
The legislation also reached 218 co-sponsors in 2012, before Republicans controlled both chambers of Congress.
“The overwhelming support to repeal the HIT shows that Congress agrees that America’s small businesses should not be burdened with yet another costly tax with no benefit to show for it,” Amanda Austin, vice president of public policy at the National Federation of Independent Business, added in a statement.
This post was updated at 3:54 p.m.