The 16-day government shutdown ended with no major concessions from the Obama administration, which successfully fought off Republican efforts to repeal, delay and defund the Affordable Care Act. The brokered deal was yet another stop-gap measure: the budget has only been funded through January 15 and the debt ceiling raised to February 7, but with ACA’s existence unchallenged – for now – in the legislature, attention will turn towards its implementation.
Wally Miller, a shareholder with Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, says the new agreement “doesn’t do anything directly now with respect to employee benefits,” but it paves the way for discussions to come. The GOP failed to make even minor funding changes to Obamacare, he says, but they will try again.
