President Donald Trump and the Republican congressional leadership have been in a rush since Inauguration Day to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare)—but that sprint may be hitting a few roadblocks.
There are good reasons for setting an early April deadline for passing the American Health Care Act (AHCA). Congress has some heavy lifting to do once Obamacare is dealt with: a major tax reform bill, a $1 trillion infrastructure bill, and a plan for funding the wall on the southern border. These measures take time, and Congress wants to clear repealing the ACA off its agenda to make room for them.
Adding to the urgency is the state of Obamacare itself. Insurance companies have been pulling out of the ACA health exchanges, and June 21 is the deadline for them to sign up for 2018. Congress needs to give the insurance industry a reason to stick around.
At this moment, though, the effort to pass the new AHCA is in danger of slowing down. The poor scorecard the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) gave the act on March 13 will encourage Democrat opposition and likely give pause to Republican moderates.
Republican conservatives, for their own reasons, may reject the bill at a Budget Committee meeting. Meanwhile, health policy experts who favor repealing Obamacare are calling for a few significant changes.
CBO Report
In a statement, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer said, “The CBO’s estimate makes clear that Trumpcare will cause serious harm to millions of American families. ... This should be a looming stop sign for the Republicans’ repeal effort.”
The CBO projects that in 2018, 14 million fewer people would have health insurance if the AHCA passes, a number the agency says will increase to 24 million by 2026.
