Westlake Word

The effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act(ACA) has proved to be very rocky for GOP lawmakers under the Trump administration. The repeal and/or replace of the Obama-era healthcare policy, Obamacare, formally known as the Affordable Care Act, has been a goal long strived for by GOP lawmakers since the implementation of the act in 2010.

 

Melissa Quinn reports that, Barack Obama, the president of which Obamacare is named after, claimed the act insured millions of more Americans and made current healthcare plans stronger. However, GOP lawmakers, more notably, President Donald Trump, has called Obamacare a “failing system.” To better understand the current administration's struggle with Obamacare, we must look at the history behind the bill and it’s repeal and replace.

 

An overhaul of the American healthcare system was a campaign promise of the former president’s presidential campaign. According to Rachel Roubein from The Hill, when former President Obama took office in 2009, he wasted little time putting a bill into legislative circulation. The Affordable Care Act, also known as H.R. 3962, was presented to the House of Representatives in July of 2009, and was signed into law on March 23rd, 2010 after it circulated through lawmakers, Roubein continued.

 

The bill was heavily criticized, amended, and debated before it was signed, and still faced heavy opposition after it was signed into law.

 

The article, “Senator John McCain votes on Obamacare,” noted that many GOP lawmakers criticized the bill, including  John McCain, who called the writing process of the bill “unsavory” and cited the White House’s deals with the pharmaceutical and hospital industry and special Medicare and Medicaid funding favoring individual Democratic senators. McCain voted no in the 2009 vote on the Affordable Care Act, and then voted yes on a 2011 repeal on the Affordable Care Act, according to HealthReformVotes.org.

 

GOP lawmakers have criticized Obamacare, calling it a “dying system,” with dangerously increasing insurance premiums. Due to this and other reasons, as a presidential nominee, Donald Trump made a campaign promise to repeal and replace of Obamacare if he was elected president in the 2016 nomination.

 

When Donald Trump was elected in 2016, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said the next day that repealing and replacing Obamacare was “pretty high” on the GOP’s 2017 agenda.

 

According to the article, “Paul Ryan Quotes About Healthcare,” Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said he offers a “better way for America with ideas that actually work, a reformed tax code that rewards free enterprise instead of just enterprising lobbyists. A reformed health care system that operates by free choice instead of by force and doesn't leave you answering to cold, clueless bureaucrats.”

 

The article continued by stating that President Donald Trump said that the repeal and replace of Obamacare would be done “simultaneously” during a television interview on December 13th, 2017.

 

On March 6, the House released an ObamaCare repeal-and-replace bill, called the American Health Care Act (AHCA). Intraparty opposition quickly mounted, with some conservatives calling it “ObamaCare 2.0” and “ObamaCare Lite.” Critics slandered this bill because they thought it would mean millions of Americans losing insurance, especially people with pre-existing conditions.

 

According to Rachel Roubein from The Hill, on March 16 the House Budget Committee narrowly passed the bill, with three members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus voting against advancing the measure; on March 24, lacking sufficient votes, Speaker Paul Ryan pulled the bill from the House floor. Roubein also reported that on April 26, the House Freedom Caucus endorsed a revised bill, giving new life to the ObamaCare repeal effort and this bill was narrowly approved on May 4th, with a vote 217-213. Lastly, she noted that on July 25, the Senate voted to begin debate on an ObamaCare repeal bill, with Vice President Pence breaking a tie on the vote.

 

According to Roubein, McCain slandered the process, urged the Senate to return to regular order which then forced the bill to be shot down until the GOP lawmakers went for a “repeal only bill,” returning to the previous healthcare system before Obamacare.

 

Instead, between July 27–28, the Senate leaders decided to vote on a scaled-down version of an ObamaCare repeal bill, yet Senator McCain gave a dramatic no with a “thumbs down” and two other GOP lawmakers voted no, which resulted in a kill for the bill, according to Roubein.

 

The article, “Sen. John McCain votes on Obamacare,” informed that many criticized McCain for voting no and turning on his own party because of a personal feud with the current sitting president, especially because McCain originally opposed Obamacare, and then voted to repeal Obamacare multiple times during the span of 2010-2011.

 

However, McCain heavily slandered Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, and Trump fired back with his own comments. Some argue that McCain is putting personal endeavours in front of the problems and good of the country, while many Democrats praised McCain for his votes opposing the GOP, overlooking his hypocrites.

 

According to Hellman, currently, the Healthcare scene sees a split between lawmakers for and against an Obamacare repeal and replace. GOP lawmakers such as Paul Ryan, Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Bill Cassidy, Lindsey Graham, Scott Walker, and Asa Hutchinson opt for an Obamacare repeal and/or replacement. He also reported that GOP lawmakers such as John McCain, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski have turned against their own party and voted no on the GOP’s votes on Obamacare.

 

Critics have slandered the House and the Senate for turning on the GOP and creating stalemates in the American government under the “oppose Trump” agenda, a dangerous agenda which sees lawmakers opposing anything President Donald Trump supports regardless of the rhetoric involved.

 

According to Byrnes, journalist for The Hill, other lawmakers such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York are against the GOP’s health care votes. Byrnes added that Schumer said that another push to repeal and replace Obamacare was "off the table,” quoting a call he had with President Trump.

 

Recently, in the early part of October, President Trump announced he will be signing an executive order that will allow people to buy lower-cost health insurance that can circumvent some of the mandates created under Obamacare. Trump will direct the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury to take steps to make it easier for people to band together and buy coverage through what is known as "association health plans,"Klein reported.

 

The executive order also would allow people to buy low-cost, short-term health insurance plans, which the Obama administration limited to three months, and would expand the use of health savings accounts. The plans offered by associations or short-term providers would be less expensive because they wouldn't have the same requirements as Obamacare coverage. This action has already proved popular among conservatives. Critics already worry that this sets people up for "junk insurance" and would further destabilize the Obamacare exchanges. However, more will be availed when the Executive Order is signed on October 12th.

 

In order for President Trump to institute a proper Obamacare repeal and replace, Republican Senators must stop betraying their own party and stop betraying the citizens who voted them into office. They must exclude personal endeavors with the hierarchy and put the needs and problems of the people of this country, the beautiful United States, ahead of all else. Democratic lawmakers and citizens alike, must stop their “oppose Trump” rhetoric and actually consult with the President and review legislate with an open mind. This must happen if  people ever want to advance the United States forward and create prosperity within the branches of government

Works Cited

 

Byrnes, Jesse. “Schumer: I told Trump that ObamaCare repeal was 'off the table'.” TheHill, 7 Oct. 2017, thehill.com/homenews/senate/354363-schumer-i-told-trump-obamacare-repeal-was-off-the-table.S

 

Hellmann, Jessie. “Who is for and against the Senate ObamaCare repeal bill.” TheHill, 21 Sept. 2017, thehill.com/policy/healthcare/351598-who-is-for-and-against-the-senate-obamacare-repeal-bill.

 

Klein, Philip, et al. “Politics.” Washington Examiner, Washington Examiner, 9 Oct. 2017, www.washingtonexaminer.com/daily-on-healthcare-trumpcare-is-coming-to-an-association-health-plan-near-you/article/2176901.

 

“Paul Ryan Quotes About Health Care.” A-Z Quotes, www.azquotes.com/author/12829-Paul_Ryan/tag/health-care.

 

Quinn, Melissa. “Fact-Checking 7 Claims in Obama's Obamacare Speech.” The Daily Signal, 21 Oct. 2016, dailysignal.com/2016/10/20/fact-checking-7-claims-in-the-presidents-speech-on-obamacare/.

 

Roubein, Rachel. “TIMELINE: The GOP's Failed Effort to Repeal ObamaCare.” TheHill, 26 Sept. 2017, thehill.com/policy/healthcare/other/352587-timeline-the-gop-effort-to-repeal-and-replace-obamacare.

 

“Sen. John McCain votes on Obamacare.” HealthReformVotes.org, www.healthreformvotes.org/congress/300071.

 

Young, Jeffrey. “Obama spars with McCain on healthcare reform: 'We're not campaigning anymore'.” TheHill, 3 Feb. 2016, thehill.com/homenews/administration/83707-obama-to-mccain-were-not-campaiging-anymore.