This is complicated. I have two degrees in government and politics plus 18 years in Washington, and I still need to reach out and ask sometimes. But it is important to understand what our government plans for us. It’s not just about those who will be covered under new healthcare legislation; private plans will adjust to accommodate new laws as well. So, please bear with me as I lay it out. And if you need clarification, please feel free to contact me here.
Background
A healthcare bill isn’t always just a healthcare bill. Because there has to be a way to pay for additional coverage and administration of the new laws, healthcare legislation includes sections that raise taxes. If legislation “raises revenue” for the government, it falls under Article I, Section 7, Clause 1 of the Constitution, the Origination Clause, which says, “All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.”
So, even though the Executive Branch (President and Cabinet Agencies) may develop healthcare legislation, it must be introduced in the House of Representatives of the Legislative Branch (Congress). It’s official when the bill’s title is read on the House floor.
Setting the Stage
In January 2017, Congress went through a process called budget reconciliation. Budget resolutions do not usually become law. They do not go to the Senate and do not need presidential approval. Budget reconciliation is a way to get parts of a budget enacted as law.
Because Congress failed to pass a budget in 2016, Congressional Republicans knew that they were coming into session with majorities in both chambers. They passed a new budget resolution that included reconciliation shortly after the new Congress was sworn in. Under that resolution, Republican House and Senate leadership gave instructions to the committees with jurisdiction over healthcare to submit legislation changing taxation provisions in the Affordable Care Act (ACA – also referred to as Obamacare) so they comply with the new budget. This allows that particular legislation to pass the House and Senate with a simple majority instead of the 60 votes it would require to stop a Democratic filibuster. Since Obamacare includes tax provisions as a way to fund itself, a budget reconciliation could effectively strip those provisions and leave the ACA unfunded (the "repeal" part of the GOP plan to "repeal and replace").
However, there are some limitations. The provisions of the budget the committees would propose under reconciliation have to relate to taxes or government spending. This means that Republicans can’t repeal the entire ACA at once, just the parts dealing with how it funds itself. They cannot repeal the policies relating to who and what is covered. Additional actions can be taken, but the above process is what Speaker Ryan means when he says reconciliation is the first step.
Behind the Scenes
House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are very influential in persuading their members to vote as they recommend. With the White House behind them, they have been working hard to assure the votes they need to pass Speaker Ryan’s plan, known as the American Health Care Act (AHCA). So why are so many Republicans expressing doubt? As Ezra Klein said in an interview with the Pod Save America podcast, Republican goals differ:
- Conservatives want to offer coverage while still controlling cost through the free market (private industry competition). Many in this group are members of the House Freedom Caucus.
- Libertarians want no Federal role in healthcare.
- Moderates want to improve coverage and lower costs.
For Speaker Ryan’s plan to succeed, he, Majority Leader McConnell, and the President will have to find a way to address the concerns of enough of the doubters to secure majorities in Congress. This is no small task.
Process
1. The House of Representatives
After being introduced and assigned a number, the bill is referred to the Ways and Means Committee, which is responsible for writing new tax legislation, the Energy and Commerce Committee, which regulates the insurance industry, the Budget Committee, which says what the government can tax and spend, and any other committee that has jurisdiction a particular function of the bill.
While the committees review the bill, they hold hearings, kind of like interviews of people whose expertise they need to understand the bill and what will happen and what will not happen if it is passed. Sometimes they also ask about the impact of not passing the bill. After the hearings, committee members mark up the bill. This is when they debate and propose amendments. The last step for the committees is voting on whether to accept all the changes they made during mark-ups.
Each Committee has three options: send the bill to a subcommittee for further debate, send it to the whole House for a vote, or “table” the bill, which means it never leaves the Committee. Tabled bills usually are not reintroduced until the next Congress.
When the bill reaches the floor of the House, it is accompanied by reports about why the committees recommended passage. Then the full body of the House debates and proposes amendments. The House Rules Committee sets the terms of the debate, time limits, and which amendments are offered. Each amendment is considered separately and subject to its own vote.
When the debate is over, there is a roll call vote. If the bill passes, the House sends the final version to the Senate.
2. Senate
Senate processes are very similar to those in the House. When the Senate receives the House bill, Senators decide whether to send the House bill to committee or offer their own version.
On the Senate side of the rotunda, healthcare bills go to the Finance Committee, which regulates taxes (among other things), and the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. The bill goes through hearings, debates, mark-ups, and committee votes as it did in the House. The reports that accompany the bill to the Senate explains any amendments accepted by the committee. The bill is then reported for floor action, where Senators can debate and offer amendments. Lastly, Senate votes. If the bill passes, the Senate sends it back to the House.
3. Conference Committee
Conference Committee works on a compromise between the two chambers. The House rarely accepts the Senate’s version of its bill, so the House adopts a motion to officially object to the Senate’s changes.
Conference Committee members are appointed by the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate. Each side votes as a unit, and the majority party in each chamber controls the vote. The Committee debates and tries to reach a compromise, then sends the compromise bill to each Chamber for floor votes. If defeated in either chamber, the bill dies. If passed, Congress sends the compromise bill to the President for signature.
4. Executive Branch
When he receives the bill, typically the President asks for advice from Cabinet Agencies that (a) have expertise on the issue, and (b) would be responsible for enforcing the provisions of the bill should it become law. If the President decides to sign the bill, it becomes law immediately, and the relevant agencies begin writing and adopting regulations and policies necessary to enforce the new law. If the President vetoes (doesn’t sign) the bill, he sends it back to Congress with the reasons why he didn’t sign.
Once back at the Capitol, Congress has two options. It can accept the President’s recommendations and send the bill back to the White House for signature. The bill becomes a law. Or Congress can override a veto with a 2/3 supermajority vote in both the House (290 votes) and the Senate (67 votes). The bill becomes a law. However, if Congress doesn’t accept the President’s recommendations or can’t get the necessary 2/3 votes, the bill dies.
Simultaneous
5. Congressional Budget Office
The Congressional Budget Office is a nonpartisan agency in the Legislative Branch of the government. It evaluates the economic impact of proposed legislation.
These are the guys and gals who figure out how many people will gain or lose health insurance coverage, how much increased or decreased coverage will impact the economy, and other things Members of Congress want to consider when debating new healthcare policy.
6. Lobbyists
Lobbyists and special interest groups are essentially the same thing. Lobbyists are usually hired to represent special interests. And before you bristle at the idea power and influence trading, consider that you are represented by special interest groups whether you are a member or not. There are special interest groups who lobby for women’s issues, specific industries (including yours), and people with chronic and autoimmune conditions, both individual conditions and the collective community.
Yes, there is a lot of money involved – lobbyists are highly paid advocates and expert fundraisers – but they are also an integral part of the process. Lawmakers need expertise from people who know the issues inside and out. There may be a few on Capitol Hill, but there are many more with diverse viewpoints outside of the government. For example, if my premiums are going up, a lawmaker will hear it and know it’s bad for some of his or her constituents, but not know the details of why the premium is going up or what to consider when constructing a viable solution.
Lobbyists can meet with anytime lawmakers before final floor votes. Often, they will meet several times with lawmakers to keep trying to persuade them to see their client’s point of view.
After
7. Judicial Branch
The courts only come into play if a situation arises where what should happen under the new law isn’t clear or contradicts existing law. A plaintiff makes a legal challenge in court to clarify the law, and the case makes its way from the lower courts to the higher courts. In these cases, it is up to the courts to decide if a particular action is legal and constitutional (The Supreme Court.)
If a case reaches the Supreme Court (they decide what cases they hear), all other state and federal courts have to decide their cases using the Supreme Court’s guidance. If the Supreme Court decides not to hear a case, the decision of the last court to rule stands.