On Jan. 22, President Trump signed a stopgap spending bill (H.R.195) to end the government shutdown and fund government operations through Feb. 8. Included in the bill was a suspension for 2019 of the health insurance tax (HIT) on providers included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. 

ABC has been a vocal opponent of the HIT since the exactment of the PPACA in 2010. The HIT, which took effect in 2014, received a suspension for 2017 but will be in effect for 2018. H.R. 195 also included a delay in the medical device tax for 2018 and 2019 and another two-year delay of the “Cadillac” tax, making the effective date 2022.

The stopgap spending bill gives Congress almost three weeks to resolve disagreements over spending caps and immigration, which led to the partial shutdown of the government for three days.