Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) says the Senate will vote quickly after President-elect Donald Trump takes office to repeal Obamacare, the pro-abortion government-run health care program. Trump has vowed to repeal President Obama’s controversial program and a Republican-led Senate is on board.
McConnell said, “It’s pretty high on our agenda as you know. I would be shocked if we didn’t move forward and keep our commitment to the American people.” McConnell did not discuss whether reconciliation would be used, though it would be necessary to get the bill passed a Democratic filibuster.
(via the Hill):
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Wednesday he would be “shocked” if Republicans did not move forward with repealing the health law, but declined to discuss if reconciliation would be used.The GOP’s toughest challenge ahead, though, involves replacing ObamaCare — a problem that has consistently dogged Republicans since the law’s passage.
Experts say it is likely a repeal bill would delay the date it takes effect to give lawmakers time to try to come up with a replacement. The reconciliation bill last year did not include a replacement but phased out the subsidies and Medicaid expansion over two years in what could allow time for a replacement.
Republicans would face difficulty uniting around the details of a plan and dealing with factors like cost estimates, despite the outline put forward by House Republicans this year.
Joe Antos, a healthcare expert at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said there would have to be some kind of transition period so people were not kicked off their plans right away.
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“I don’t think you can get anybody to say ‘OK, on February 1 you’re off,'” Antos said. “2018 is another matter,” he added, though he noted that the law could be adapted rather than completely scrapped.
In an interview, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) would not absolutely commit to using reconciliation to repeal ObamaCare, noting that there still had to be planning meetings with the Trump transition team, but spoke favorably of the test run the process got last year.
Trump’s final argument included a promise to repeal Obamacare. As he has pledged before, Trump made repealing Obamacare a central part of the reason he asked voters to support him at the polls.
For 17 months, I’ve traveled this country and met countless Americans from every walk of life. Your hopes have become my hopes and your dreams have become my dreams.
I’ve been inspired on this journey by the millions of you who came to cheer a simple idea: that we can make America great again.
Real change begins with immediately repealing and replacing job-killing Obamacare — Americans are experiencing soaring double-digit premium hikes, insurers are leaving, doctors are quitting, jobs are fleeing, and deductibles are through the roof.
We will repeal and replace catastrophic Obamacare with new reforms that dramatically expand choice, substantially lower costs, and significantly improve the quality of care. And we will end the offshoring of American jobs.
