In a news conference held on January 12th in Washington, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan advised that House committees will be instrumental in the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act. Proposed committees include House Ways and Means Committee, House Energy and Commerce Committee, and House Education and Workforce Committee among others.
The Republican House speaker also emphasized his siding with President-Elect Trump on his decisions involving the ACA’s repeal and replacement process. While Senate is moving forward on resolving a budget for the ACA repeal, Rand Paul stands alone as the only Republican with a varying opinion, suggesting a simultaneous repeal and replacement process which emphasizes the need for a suitable replacement plan.
Meanwhile on the other side of the aisle, Democratic leaders are still optimistic about fighting for the ACA, especially in the face of the GOP’s lackluster replacement approach. Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi stated that the Democrats will “stand their ground” when it comes to the ACA. Other Democratic members of Senate are cautiously optimistic about retaining the ACA in some form.
Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley feels there’s a “very good chance” that the ACA will remain, punctuating his sentiment with highlighting Republicans’ disorganized efforts in an adequate replacement. With House Committees presumably getting involved in an ACA repeal, yet no clear idea of a replacement, it begs the question of can the Affordable Care Act be successfully removed without a plan to fall back on?