WASHINGTON — Republicans abandon their long struggle to repeal the Affordable Care Act, making the 2022 election the first in more than a decade to go uncontested on protection. or undo The outcome of the signature of President Barack Obama.
Declining willingness to repeal means a law — a law that extends health insurance coverage to millions of people who have survived numerous near-death experiences in Congress. court — looks safer than ever.
With just over a month to go until the next election, Congress and Republicans in the campaign haven’t raised the issue of Obamacare. The Republican Senate candidate, who is running in eight key battleground states, has not called for the ACA to be rolled back on its campaign website, according to an NBC News review. It barely mentions the health insurance system in general. And in interviews on Capitol Hill, key Republican lawmakers said their desire for repeal had waned.
Senator John Cornyn, Texas Republican, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell Republican Senator John Cornyn, a close ally of Kentucky and former chairman of the Republican Campaign Division, said: says.
A new “Commitment to America” by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Republican California. outline The agenda of a potential Republican majority makes no mention of the ACA, vaguely calling for “personalized care” and “transparency, choice, and competition to drive down prices.”
At least one Republican running in a contested district this fall has praised core elements of a far-reaching health-care law that passed only the Democratic vote.
“I’m against repealing the Affordable Care Act,” said Republican candidate Joe O’Dea, who faces off against Democratic Sen. Michael Bennett in blue-leaning Colorado. “There were real problems with the way Obamacare was originally enacted, but many of those problems have been addressed by Congress and the courts, and the ACA’s protection for individuals with pre-existing medical conditions is among the fewest passed by Congress. One of the key reforms. Generation.”
Republican campaign chief Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) avoids the ACA in an aggressive manner Management agendaAsked if he wanted to repeal the 2010 law, Scott said, “I’m not thinking about the bill that’s out there.” He said that “different things” should be done about health care.
Even the most hardcore conservatives who still want parts of the law back in place want to reframe the debate away from the ACA.
“No offense. It’s an old question,” said Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy, a member of the far-right Liberal caucus, when asked about repealing Obamacare.
“Why don’t we attack as Republicans and avoid getting into trouble with repeal of the ACA? Our healthcare system was garbage due to government regulation prior to the ACA. We just let it go,” says Roy.
a budget planning The paper, released in June by Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana, who chairs the conservative Republican Study Committee, “unleashes the ACA’s Washington-centric approach” and seeks other solutions to the existing situation. I am proposing to consider it. But when asked if repealing the law should be on the Republican agenda if Republicans retake the House this fall, Banks said, “I’ll leave it to Leader McCarthy as to what that agenda will look like.” said.
Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, a member of the Republican Study Committee, was outspoken when asked if he expected the new Republican House majority to pursue repeal of the ACA.
“I don’t think it’s on the table,” he said.
Gallagher argues that the “lessons learned” from Democrats’ passage of the ACA in 2010 and Republicans’ unsuccessful attempts to repeal it in 2017 should be narrowly focused rather than creating a “comprehensive” health care bill. I said focus. Targeting is changed.
The switch from Obamacare came after Republicans faced backlash in 2018 for trying to rescind common provisions such as protecting people with pre-existing medical conditions. and called for repeal of Obamacare after failing to run for re-election in 2020.
But Republicans achieved one goal with another bill in 2017. It is to nullify the individual obligation to require people to have health insurance by eliminating tax penalties.
As of March, 55% of U.S. adults had a positive view of ACA, and 42% had a negative view, according to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. chase ballot.
Still, Democrats say they take nothing for granted.
“We thought Roe v. Wade was going to continue,” said Senator Chris Van Hollen (D, Md.). “So here’s my take: Always stay vigilant.”
Democratic Senator Rafael Warnock, who is facing re-election this fall, argued that the ACA is not fully implemented because some Republican-led states are blocking the expansion of Medicaid. “Georgia needs to expand Medicaid,” he said.
“What I have done is try to make way for the 600,000 Georgians who are in the coverage gap. They are political agents forced to subsidize health care in other states. said Warnock. “The Affordable Care Act is the law of this country.
Rep. David Schweikert, Arizona, who is a member of the Ways and Means Commission and is seeking to chair the Health Subcommittee, said he wants to get past the ACA repeal conversation.
Instead, he called for new technology and automation to drive down healthcare costs. This could mean that “he will replace a good portion of the ACA to legitimize alternative plans,” but focused on providing care rather than financing insurance.
“Unless we change the medical bills, we are in a quandary,” he said.
Rep. Claudia Tenney (RN.Y.) narrowly lost her upstate New York seat in 2018 in backlash against Trump and the repeal of the ACA before winning the seat again in 2020. Tenney replied simply.
“Oh my God,” she said. “Let’s see if we’re in the majority.”
