Republicans finally hit a home run with a 217-213 vote Thursday to pass a health care bill that will help millions of struggling Americans. They proved they can govern. Yet one of Republicans’ most notable successes is so far getting too little recognition. GOP negotiators embraced the only model that can ultimately see this bill successfully to President Trump’s desk: states’ rights. The compromise is far from perfect—concocted, as it was, under pressure, and with dozens of competing interests in the room. The Senate offers Republicans an opportunity to do much better by building on the idea’s model of states’ rights.
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In a major victory for President Donald Trump, the House has voted to dismantle the pillars of the Affordable Care Act and make sweeping changes to the nation’s health care system.
If a house is on fire, you do not wait for it to burn to the ground before trying to save the family trapped inside. The situation we face today with Obamacare is no different: It is on the verge of collapse, buckling under the weight of its own toxic mix of mandates and regulations, and many of our fellow Americans are trapped inside.
This crisis will not resolve itself — it is only getting worse, and America’s families can’t wait any longer. Do we have the courage to do what’s right for the American people?
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Against the odds, House Republicans have regained momentum on health-care reform, and they’re nearing a majority coalition. While there may be more swerves before a vote, they ought to appreciate the importance of demonstrating that a center-right Congress—working with President Trump —can govern.
There are still holdouts and others are undecided in the GOP’s moderate and conservative wings, but their differences are narrowing. More members are also recognizing their political mistake in trashing the original ObamaCare repeal and replace bill.
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The MacArthur amendment focuses on an idea that’s core to Republicans’ DNA: federalism. That’s a positive step forward. But what still seems to be lacking is a strategic roadmap for what Congress and the Administration should be trying to achieve. By laying out this roadmap, the Administration can bridge the gap between Republican moderates and conservatives, and possibly open up a much-needed dialogue with centrist Democrats.
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The Republican predicament is illustrated in the cultural response to a monologue by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel who, through tears, made an impassioned plea to President Donald Trump and the GOP not to decrease public funding for or access to health insurance.
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A pair of moderate Republicans who’d been holdouts against the GOP health care bill said Wednesday they were now backing the high-profile legislation after winning President Donald Trump’s support for their proposal for reviving the languishing measure.
The conversions of Reps. Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Billy Long, R-Mo., could breathe new life into the sagging Republican push to deliver their long-standing promise repeal former President Obama’s health care overhaul. Upton and others said they believed the House could pass the legislation Thursday.
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House GOP leaders and Trump administration officials on Wednesday agreed to pour an additional $8 billion into the latest version of their health care bill, part of a last-minute effort aimed at garnering enough support for a potential floor vote before a week-long recess starts on Friday.
The revision won over at least two moderates who had previously opposed the legislation, but it remains unclear whether House Republican leaders, who can afford to lose only 22 GOP lawmakers, have the support needed to send the bill to the Senate before legislators face their constituents next week. A House floor vote has not been scheduled.
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Aetna Inc. will again scale back its presence in the Affordable Care Act exchanges in 2018, saying it expects losses on the business this year.
Individual plans are a small share of Aetna’s overall business, and the insurer had already scaled back its exchange presence to four ACA marketplaces currently, down from 15 last year.
Aetna said it expects 2017 losses on its individual business will amount to roughly half its loss last year, which was $450 million.
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In the latest Trump administration gamble, senior White House officials have predicted a vote to overhaul Obamacare this week even though party chiefs on Tuesday did not have enough support to pass a bill.
Grace-Marie Turner, who advises Republican lawmakers on healthcare as president of the Galen Institute think-tank, said: “Obamacare handed Republicans a bucketful of hand grenades and they are now trying to work out how to stop them going off.”
Ms Turner said Republicans’ healthcare struggles stemmed partly from the fact they had done a poor job explaining to voters what their proposals would mean. “They’ve not had enough time to spend on core messaging to persuade people that you are going to be OK, that [Obamacare] is going to stay in effect while we move to a better system,” she said.
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