Six provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) should come up for target practice next week on the Capitol Hill shooting range. Included in a budget reconciliation measure before the House of Representatives are such items as repeal of the individual mandate, employer mandate, Independent Payment Advisory Board, medical device tax, and auto-enrollment of workers in larger businesses. None of those clay pigeons are likely to suffer any permanent harm, given the certainty of a veto if the bill manages to get to President Obama’s desk. But the latest political contortions over one particular provision — the so-called Cadillac tax – are particularly rich in circular irony and evasion.
