Despite heated congressional hearings on whether Rep. Tom Price should head the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, President Donald Trump’s promise to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act is already in motion.
On Inauguration Day, Trump signed an executive order urging federal officials to “take all actions consistent with law to minimize the unwarranted economic and regulatory burdens” of the federal health law.” Meanwhile, several Republican plans for a replacement to the law are in the works, including proposals to block grant Medicaid and another that would allow states that embraced the law to maintain it.
The American public appears divided on the law, which has resulted in coverage of more than 20 million people. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll conducted in December found that Americans are evenly divided on the fate of the law — 49 percent of respondents said Congress should vote to repeal it, while 47 percent said they should not. Just one in five agreed with the Republican strategy of repealing the law before creating a replacement. (KHN is an editorially independent service of the foundation.)
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