One thing is for certain when it comes to the Affordable Care Act: it keeps the people talking. As Republicans talk of a repeal, with a replacement plan that will stretch over the course of a few years, Americans will not forget which Senators and which Representatives were for or against the change. This will certainly be true when it comes to 2018 and the seats in the Senate.
If there’s anything U.S. Senators haven’t been when it comes to the ACA,it’s silent. As of lately, we are witnessing swaying opinions on the part of GOP Senators questioning the hastiness of an ACA repeal without a replacement plan. We saw in January Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky suggesting a simultaneous repeal and replacement (neither would be immediate), as Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas echoed the sentiment. Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia had concerns about the repeal, as Medicaid Expansion could be halted and affect West Virginians statewide.
There is also the recent “Patient Freedom Act” proposed by GOP Senators Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Susan Collins of Maine, hoping to have a quick fix that would be far less detrimental to the existing infrastructure of the Affordable Care Act in the face of a repeal. These are just some of the differences of opinion when it comes to U.S. Senators and where they sit on the spectrum of healthcare reform. But as certain seats are up come 2018, will those Senators who were formerly against the ACA return to their positions?
It would only require two GOP senators to lose their seats for the Republicans to lose control of the Senate, and with fourteen seats at risk should these Republicans support repealing the ACA,it paints a challenging issue for the party going forward.
As an estimated 22.8 million Americans can lose healthcare if the ACA is repealed, coupled with the millions of Americans who may lose their access to Medicaid, will these Senators see re-election? Will they be regarded as those on the wrong side of history who took healthcare away from the American people? Or will they be viewed for the other issues they are for and against without limiting them to one cause? We’ll have to see next year.
