Will the GOP "Repair Obamacare" and Ditch Its Promise to Repeal?

repair Obamacare
"Repealing and replacing Obamacare" was a chief talking point of President Trump's campaign.

President Donald Trump's election was supposed to have solidified the ultimate demise of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as Obamacare.

After all, overturning former President Barack Obama's legacy healthcare law was a major talking point for Trump during his presidential campaign. It's also been a long-held mission for the majority of GOP Congress members to boot.

But a growing number of House Republicans have recently shifted their "repeal Obamacare" rhetoric to "repair Obamacare" instead.

It started on Feb. 1 when Bloomberg reported that conservative pollster Frank Luntz told Republicans at a Philadelphia summit that the "repair" language was more "amenable to Americans." He said to use it instead of "repeal and replace."

Luntz's message seems to have made a strong impact.

On Feb. 2, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), the chair of the Senate Health Committee, said, "I think it is more accurate to say 'repair Obamacare' because, for example, in the reconciliation procedure that we have in the Senate, we can't repeal all of Obamacare," according to The Washington Post.

Alexander likened the current state of the Affordable Care Act to a collapsing bridge.

"You send in a rescue team and you go to work to repair it so that nobody else is hurt by it and you start to build a new bridge, and only when that new bridge is complete, people can drive safely across it, do you close the old bridge."

Also on Feb. 2, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), the head of the Senate Finance Committee, told CNN that the GOP wanted to "try and repair the law."

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This overall switch in rhetoric has sent many analysts, investors, and hopeful ACA-repeal acolytes reeling, wondering where it came from.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, tried to "clean up the mess" on "FOX & Friends" last Thursday (Feb. 3). Ryan said there had been a "miscommunication" between GOP party members.

"To repair the American healthcare system, you have to repeal and replace this law, and that's what we're doing," Ryan said.

But it seems GOP legislators are indeed grappling with their party's desire - and President Donald Trump's promise - to dismantle Obamacare with what might be a more pragmatic and cost-effective alternative: repairing it.

Here are the reasons that could help explain the Republicans' change in tone and timing on the contentious Obama-era healthcare act...

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Why "Repair Obamacare" Is the New GOP Approach

For starters, a report released on Dec. 6 by the American Hospital Association and Federation of American Hospitals warned that an Obamacare repeal could cost hospitals and taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars. The group wrote "any reconsideration of the ACA should be accompanied at the same time by provisions that guarantee similar coverage to those who would lose it," reported NPR on Jan. 6.

You see, parts of Obamacare are still incredibly popular. Provisions such as the ability for children to stay on their parents' plan until they turn 26 and the inability of insurers to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions are preferred by an overwhelming majority of Americans.

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Then, on Jan. 6, the Kaiser Family Foundation released poll results that found 75% of Americans either are opposed to Congress repealing Obamacare or want lawmakers to wait until they have a replacement ready before doing so.

According to Kaiser's study, after being read a definition of "pre-existing condition," just over half (56%) of U.S. adults surveyed said that they or someone in their household would be considered to have such a condition.

"Overall, these individuals are more likely than those without a pre-existing condition to say their access, quality, and cost of healthcare will get 'worse' if the ACA is repealed," reported Kaiser's findings.

And slightly more than half (54%) of those with a pre-existing condition say they are either "very worried" or "somewhat worried" about not being able to afford the healthcare services they need, compared to 43% of those without a pre-existing condition, Kaiser found.

President Trump has promised a replacement plan of his own. But Congressional GOPers have yet to unite around any of the plans that have thus far been floated to end Obamacare and maintain a stable insurance market.

Then there's the rhetorical impact for which Congressional Democrats have recently been responsible.

The Dems have frequently been touting that over 20 million people who have gained access to health coverage through the law would lose it.

On Jan 11, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) tweeted that "For the tens of millions of Americans who will lose their health care if the ACA is repealed, I vote no. #MakeAmericaSickAgain"

repair Obamacare

There have been hordes of debate over Schumer's quoted number and about what constitutes "healthcare" versus what constitutes "health coverage" in general. But according to a Congressional Budget Office estimate released on Jan. 17, "repealing parts of the law without replacement would result in an increase in 27 million Americans without insurance once the Medicaid expansion is eliminated."

These myriad concerns have hounded Republicans in recent weeks. So much that, just yesterday (Feb. 6), President Trump's administration admitted that ACA replacement may not be ready until 2018.

Where the Trump Administration Stands on Healthcare, FOX News, Feb. 6, 2017.

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