- Trump Calls for Using Tax Bill to Repeal Obamacare's Individual Mandate Bloomberg by Sahil Kapur — President Donald Trump called Wednesday for repealing the Obamacare individual mandate in a tax overhaul, a day before House GOP leaders planned to unveil a bill without that provision. The idea, proposed Sunday by Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, could complicate the plans of Republicans to keep the health care and tax debates separate. Party leaders worry that reopening the politically painful Obamacare debate would cost them crucial votes on a tax bill.
- House GOP Tax Cut Bill Has Pluses and Pitfalls for Healthcare Stakeholders Modern Healthcare by Harris Meyer — Health care companies, executives, and professionals could enjoy lower business and personal taxes while facing reduced revenue due to Medicare and Medicaid cuts that may be used to pay for the tax reductions, under the House Republican tax reform bill released Thursday. The 429-page Tax Cuts and Jobs Act—which congressional Republicans hope to pass quickly through the expedited budget reconciliation process with little or no Democratic support—would slash the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent. That would benefit profitable companies like UnitedHealth Group, HCA, and Universal Health Services, according to an analysis by Mizuho Securities.