On Friday, the House of Representatives approved a budget that will fast-track the dismantling of the Affordable Care Act and block Democrats from filibustering the repeal.
By Kate Wheeling
House Speaker Paul Ryan swears in new members of Congress in the House Chamber, January 3rd, 2017, in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Today, by a vote of 227 to 198, the House of Representatives approved a budget that will fast-track the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
Just days after the Senate’s late-night approval of the budget, and a week before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, Republicans in the House are set to dismantle President Barack Obama’s health-care law—without any plans for its replacement. As Francie Diepreported for Pacific Standard, the repeal will have devastating consequences for those who rely on the law’s provisions expanding Medicaid and protecting those with pre-existing conditions.
The House vote hewed to party lines, with only nine Republicans and every Democrat voting against the budget. “This is a critical first step toward delivering relief to Americans who are struggling under this law,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said, according to the New York Times. Indeed, even though the uninsured rate has reached an all-time low under the ACA, many Republicans won seats in the Senate and House (and even the White House) based on campaign promises to repeal the health-care law. Still, the majority of Americans don’t want Obamacare overturned without a replacement plan in place.
As for the more than 20 million Americans who became insured under the ACA, their future medical coverage is now very uncertain.
