Incoming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has a message for Republicans who say a repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is at the top of their agenda: Careful what you wish for.
Schumer says that should the GOP pull the rug out from under 20 million Americans who are now covered thanks to the ACA, it will end in political disaster for them:
“They’re going to find they have a tiger by the tail because of all the good things in ACA It’s impossible for them to keep those — which they say they want to keep — without keeping the ACA. They’re going to be like the dog that caught the bus.”
Specifically, Schumer pointed to the pre-existing condition rules, the young adult provisions and other parts such as prohibitions against charging women more than men.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady of Texas says there’s nothing to fear because popular provisions will be retained in the replacement of Obamacare:
“Since we’re doing away with all the taxes and mandates, unlocking that tax break and giving people freedom to use it to choose a plan that’s right for them is really the key to the Republican proposal.”
Then again, if you eliminate the mandate that people purchase health insurance, it will shrink the pool of participants and may cause insurance companies to raise premiums astronomically. Schumer says the GOP plan is unworkable:
“None of them have been able to come up with a plan that keeps all the parts that are popular without keeping ACA. They’re going to be so stuck. I look forward to them marching into that issue. They will regret the day they did it.”
The only real solution, which Republicans are unlikely to even consider, is universal healthcare for all. It could be done easily by allowing everyone to be a part of Medicare. But the GOP considers that to be a form of socialism and therefore untenable.
Apparently Republicans would rather have 20 million pissed off people with overpriced or non-existent health insurance. That spells doom for them come the mid-term election in two years. Stay tuned.
Featured Image Via Yahoo News
