Republican representatives in the House Ways and Means Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee [official website] released two separate bills [Ways and Means bill, PDF; Energy and Commerce bill, PDF] on Monday that, if passed, would repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act [text, PDF] through a process called reconciliation. The new law, tentatively referred to as the American Health Care Act, would eliminate the individual mandate that imposed a tax penalty on individuals who failed to procure health insurance, but would allow insurance companies to impose a surcharge up to 30 percent on those who allow their coverage to lapse. It would also preserve two popular aspects of the ACA—allowing children to stay on their parents’ plans until age 26, and barring insurance companies from denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions. The proposed legislation faces opposition from House Democrats and some moderate Republicans who are concerned that many of their constituents may be left without health care coverage if the new plan removes Medicaid provisions that had been expanded under the ACA [JURIST backgrounder]. Democrats also oppose the plan because it targets Planned Parenthood [advocacy website], an organization that provides reproductive health services, including abortions, to millions of women. Some Republicans are also opposed to provisions that would defund Planned Parenthood, noting that under the Hyde Amendment [text, PDF], federal funds are already barred from funding abortions.

Shortly after being sworn in in January, US President Donald Trump [official website] signed an executive order [JURIST report] aimed at repealing the ACA. The Senate had prepared for the repealing of the ACA earlier that month when it voted 51-48 [JURIST report] to prevent the process from being subject to a filibuster. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was active before the election in opposing Trump’s proposed repeal of the ACA. Earlier in January the ACLU filed a motion [JURIST report] to stay a federal court order preventing the federal government from enforcing an ACA regulation that protects transgender people and women from discrimination in health care. On the same day the Secretary of Health and Human Services warned [JURIST report] that a repeal of the ACA without an immediate replace would create a dangerous situation for American healthcare. GOP congressional leaders have recently acknowledged that repealing the ACA too quickly without a sufficient replacement plan may leave an estimated 20 million Americans uninsured.