Should President-elect Donald Trump repeal the Affordable Care Act? Barack Obama and vice president-elect Mike Pence descended on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to gird their parties for battle over Obamacare as the incoming Trump administration prepares to undo one of the president’s signature achievements. Bottom of Form The day after Republicans took a first step towards repealing the Obama reforms, the president and Mr Pence separately met lawmakers who are pushing alternative visions for improving healthcare while trying to insulate themselves from future public ire. With Donald Trump’s inauguration just over two weeks away, healthcare reform has become Washington’s dominant political preoccupation, an issue that spans household budgets, government spending and the profitability of the health industry. Republicans are planning a deferred repeal of Mr Obama’s reforms that would give them two to four years to develop a replacement. But Mr Trump joined those warning that his party must avoid being blamed for any interim deterioration in the healthcare market. “Republicans must be careful in that the Dems own the failed Obamacare disaster, with its poor coverage and massive premium increases,” Mr Trump tweeted. Referring to Chuck Schumer, the new leader of Senate Democrats, he added: “Don’t let the Schumer clowns out of this web.” Alluding to the dangers of disrupting a market where millions buy private insurance on government-backed exchanges, Paul Ryan, the speaker of the House, told reporters alongside Mr Pence: “We don’t want to pull the rug out from under people while we are replacing this law.” The Obamacare reforms, formally known as the Affordable Care Act, enabled 20m Americans who did not have health insurance to secure it, furthering Mr Obama’s primary goal by reducing the proportion of uninsured people to a record low of 8.6 per cent. But the reforms have been beset by problems, as some people lost access to their preferred doctors and health plans, insurance premiums soared, and big insurers including Aetna and Humana quit the exchanges, complaining they were getting too many sick customers. Mr Pence, who was a member of Congress when Obamacare became law in 2010, told reporters the president had broken his promises. The incoming vice-president pledged an “orderly transition” to a better system that lowered costs and did not increase the size of government. “It will be important that we be careful as we do that in a way that doesn’t [bring] hardship on American families who have gained insurance through this program, doesn’t work a hardship on our economy,” Mr Pence said. Obamacare tends to split public opinion along party lines. A post-election poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 26 per cent of Americans wanted to see the law repealed entirely while 17 per cent wanted it scaled back. Thirty per cent wanted it to be expanded. Republicans in Congress have launched more than 50 attempts to scrap Obamacare since it was passed, but have been thwarted by Democrats and the White House. The election results, which gave Republicans control of Washington, mean they are now all but certain to succeed. Senate Republicans on Tuesday initiated health-related budget legislation that is likely to move to the House next week and gives lawmakers until late January to write legislation that would repeal all or part of the healthcare law. Aides say the repeal will happen in as few as two years or as many as four. The repeal legislation could be passed with a simple majority vote in both chambers of Congress. But crafting and passing a subsequent bill to replace Obamacare will be more complicated as Republicans will need 60 Senate votes and the support of some Democrats to get them. Mr Obama did not speak publicly after his Capitol Hill visit, but Mr Schumer told reporters after the president’s meeting with Democrats that “the Republican plan to cut healthcare wouldn’t make America great again. It would make America sick again and lead to chaos”. “Our Republican colleagues don’t quite know what to do. They are like the dog that caught the bus. They can repeal but they have nothing to put in its place and that means so many good things go away,” Mr Schumer said. The ACA is comprised of many interdependent parts, including a requirement for every American to buy health insurance, public subsidies for both consumers and insurers, and a popular ban on insurers denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.
Mr Schumer said: “Republicans will soon learn you can’t keep the good parts of the ACA, and remove the rest of the law, and still have it work.” Tevi Troy, deputy secretary of health under George W Bush and now head of the American Health Policy Institute, said the big danger facing Republicans was that they would repeal Obamacare but be unable to replace it due to Democratic blocking tactics. “And the Democrats say: ‘Look, it’s all your fault.’” But he said both parties should see the wisdom of co-operating. Doing so would enable Democrats to have a say in reshaping a system that even some Obama allies admit is imperfect, while allowing Republicans to secure a broader support base for the new approach, he said. “The fact the ACA was passed in a unpartisan way led to constant Republican opposition,” Mr Troy added. “Every other piece of social legislation has been passed in a bipartisan way, even if it was controversial, and subsequently the American people have accepted it and moved on.”
6 Comments
Natalia Lagunas
1/10/2017 08:25:54 pm
The Affordable care act, also known as Obamacare, was set into space in 2010 this act ensured that all americans were getting the insurance they needed to seek medical attention and not go into turmoil. But President- Elect Donald Trump wants to repeal it.
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Esmeralda Caabay
1/10/2017 09:53:34 pm
In 2011, Americans spent more than $2.7 trillion—or $8,680 per person—on health care. The growth of health care costs continues to outpace the growth of our economy, leaving rising health care costs the ability to jeopardize the economic well being of millions of American families and businesses. The United States spends more money on health care than any other country in the world, yet we don’t always get better results. In 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed by residing President during that time, Barrack Obama, therefor the act is often referred to as “Obamacare”. “Obamacare” was ultimately designed to make healthcare more affordable. As the year comes in, so does President-Elect Donald Trump attempting to repeal this act. President-Elect Trump should put an end to Obamacare as it hasn’t seem to have done away with outrageous healthcare costs. As Obama leaves office, so should his healthcare act. Millions of Americans have lost their insurance coverage to Obamacare. Since the cost of health care rises, so do the insurance plans. As President-Elect Trump makes his way into the White House, more Americans can also favor him if he puts an end to Obamacare.
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Josiah Bunda
1/15/2017 12:21:06 am
The Affordable Care Act, or as it’s more widely known as, Obamacare, was created in order to provide more citizens access to affordable, quality health insurance and to reduce the growth in U.S. health care spending, but recently it has undergone the repealing process because President Elect Donald Trump continues to bash the law for its outrageous insurance premiums and poor coverage. Over 56% of the American public agree that the law should be changed or repealed entirely. The problem with repealing the law is that there is no currently planned replacement for the healthcare law, so all those who signed up for Obamacare are out of luck until a replacement is created. Obamacare in no way is perfect, but it has helped hundreds of thousands to afford healthcare. The best way to deal with Obamacare is to change it, not to get rid of it entirely. Reforming Obamacare is the way forward because it will benefit those who currently have it and lessen the financial blow it has on some consumers
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Lucia Querney
1/15/2017 10:46:58 am
Since 2010, the American people have relied on the Affordable Care Act—Obamacare. This legislation, passed by President Obama, has tragically but predictably resulted in runaway costs, websites that don’t work, greater rationing of care, higher premiums, less competition and fewer choices. Obamacare has raised the economic uncertainty of Americans in this country. President-Elect Donald Trump plans on taking initiative of the issue by repealing the affordable care act. Egged on by Trump, Republicans have vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act but conservatives have not yet agreed on a new plan. Still, it is the best choice to remove Obama Care since it hasn’t benefitted us, and since the health care cost is getting higher, the insurance plans for Americans will also increase. Obama Care is not a well regulated system, and it is unjust for the ones in low income families who are in need of a health insurance.
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Patricia Rodriguez
1/15/2017 09:13:25 pm
The question all Americans and politicians have been asking is, what plan does president-elect Donald J. Trump have after he repeals the Affordable Care Act. The Affordable Care Act was enacted on March 2010. Its meaning was to give all Americans a way to afford Health Care. Unfortunately, it did not help many americans. More than half of Americans, 50.1%, are middle class. When the Afforable Care act was passed, it forced many to pay an amount of money they might not longer be able to pay in the future. Most of the middle class had many more health insurance options at much lower cost before Obamacare took effect. Health insurance was a competition on which insurance company had a lower price and the government was not involved. The government always helped that low-income people, but because president Barack Obama wanted everyone to be equal, he chose to pass Obamacare. Also, middle class Americans are not promised good doctors and are not promised to recieve affordable medicine. Obamacare should be repealed because people should not be forced to pay something they do not like. Americans should have the right to make their own choices and should not be forced by government on how/ where to go for their health.
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Aylinn Luna
1/15/2017 11:51:07 pm
Republicans in Congress have launched more than 50 attempts to eliminate the Affordable Care Act since it was passed, but have been defeated by Democrats and the White House. Ever since Obamacare (Affordable Care Act) was passed in 2010, it has been a debatable topic among politics. But what the majority of the citizens of the United States don’t look at, is the bright side or the benefits it offered ever since it was passed. For example, it stops insurance companies from denying you coverage or charging you more based on health status, stops insurance companies from dropping you when you are sick or if you make an honest mistake on your application, prevents gender discrimination and approximately 12 million Americans receive health care coverage due to ACA.
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