The Republican-controlled House moved to repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which will overhaul the current health care system, Wednesday night. All 242 House Republicans voted unanimously to repeal.

Republicans are making an effort to repeal the entire bill, which was enacted in March 2010, to write a new version that would lower the overall cost of the health care, according to the Reform Americans Can Afford Act.

Paul Leidig, adviser of the College Republicans organization at Grand Valley State University, said Republicans are trying to figure out a way to cut unnecessary spending included in the bill.

“Many of the guarantees or entitlements in the health care bill are going to be looked at with a fine-toothed comb,” said Leidig, assistant dean of the Padnos College of Engineering and Computing. “Elections have consequences. The electorates are having much more of an interest and a say in how their congressional representatives vote. People are starting to reengage. I think that is good.”

Small business owners are also looking to the repeal and the House to see how their businesses will be affected. In a conference call with the media on Tuesday, Small Business Administration administrator Karen Mills and acting Deputy Secretary of the Department of Commerce Rebecca Blank discussed the impact the repeal would have on small businesses.

Mills said small businesses are concerned by the 1099 reporting requirement, a tax form for small businesses that records all revenue given to employees and independent contractors. The repeal of the health care bill would help eliminate the burdens it creates for the businesses.

“More than ever, this is important because this is the next generation of job creators, and we have a chance now to have more support for them to pursue their dreams,” she said.

However, Mills said the House’s push for the entire repeal of the bill would result in losses for businesses.

“Repealing the entire law makes bad business sense,” she said. “Repeal would take away small business tax credit. It would prevent a marketplace where insurance companies compete for business from small companies and stifle innovation among America’s entrepreneurs.”

The mandatory health insurance policy is also under review. GVSU political science professor Roger Moiles said the mandatory health insurance has been characterized as the government takeover of health care.

“Whether you like this health care bill or not, it’s a landmark sort of thing,” he said. “We don’t get this kind of sweeping legislation very often. The reason that people are probably upset about this is because it is a big deal.”

Leidig said despite the Republican effort to completely repeal the bill, the repeal will most likely be passed through the House but rejected by both the Senate and the president.

Republicans have taken some ideas from the Democratic bill and plan to use them in the reformed bill if the repeal passes — people with pre-existing conditions would still qualify for health insurance, and dependants would still remain on their parent’s policy until age 26.

“I think they recognize that as much as they would like to completely repeal the Health Care Bill, there’s little chance that it will go through,” Leidig said. “But they owe it to the constituents who voted on having that done.”

There is a low possibility the repeal will make it past the Senate. However, if the Senate votes to repeal, the bill would go to the president, who already has threatened to veto it.

The only way to override the president’s veto is for two-thirds to vote against him in both the House and Senate. However, Leidig and Moiles agree that the repeal will be rejected after it passes the House.

“One reform isn’t going to do it,” said associate professor of Health Administration Greg Cline. “We are going to have to do reform and see how it turns out. We are going to be at this a long while. I find it almost impossible to believe that they have any hope at all of repealing the whole law.”

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