Changes to ACA May Not Happen Until After 2018 Election
Last week, Trump’s American Health Care Act (AHCA) passed in the House with only a four-vote win despite the large majority by Republican Representatives. The bill, also known as Trumpcare, was previously withdrawn prior to the voting stage, underwent modifications steering the bill even more to the right to satisfy the conservative Freedom Caucus.
Trump made it his personal mission to find a way to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. This passage through the House is only his first step of realizing that goal. The AHCA is now en route to Senate, and its chances of survival there are slim where the Republicans hold only a slim majority. The Senate version, which may be unrecognizable from the House version, then has to go back to the House for reconciliation.
A Federal Tax Day Notice dated May 9th advises that Senate may rewrite the House bill in its entirety once it hits the floor. While Senate still has a majority lead by the Republican party, it’s a slim one compared to that of Congress. That means that Democratic Senators—who have already been actively trying to amend the ACA over getting rid of it—will continue to fight for the existing bill rather than adopt Trump’s proposed one.
Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York vocalized his hopes for a bipartisan approach to healthcare reform. “I hope my Republican friends toss this House bill out the window and resist the temptation to follow the same partisan rushed process,” Schumer said on May 8th. He added during his Senate floor comments: “I hope my friends on the other side of the aisle drop repeal… and start working with Democrats to make our health care better.”
Meanwhile, Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky wants a score from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) before moving forward with the AHCA. The House passed the bill without a CBO score. However, his Twitter commentary proves his end goal: “Now is the time for the Senate to do its work to repeal (the ACA)…” he said in a Tweet.
Just how long will we wait for a conclusion? Well, per Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware’s predictions, it will be following the 2018 elections. Polls have strongly shown that the AHCA is very unpopular. “My guess is that Leader McConnell is going to take some time here,” Coons advised, “and while he may ultimately pass a bill in the Senate, I think he will send it to conference with the House.”
What this means is that the ACA will likely be around for at least another couple of years.
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