Washington D.C.- Just days after the House Republicans introduced their plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, Republicans are experiencing backlash within their own party and are wondering if there will be enough votes to get the bill to President Trump's desk.
Republican senators Rob Portman (Ohio), Shelly Moore Capito (W.VA), Cory Gardner (Colorado), and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) have already announced that they would vote against the American Health Care Act. All four have said that they disagree with the bill's repeal of Medicaid expansion, which many of their constituents depend on. Without the support of at least 50 out of 52 GOP senators, the bill will die on the Senate floor. So unless changes are made to the bill, it has almost no chance of passing.
When asked to comment on the American Health Care Act, freshman Zach Karol was not hesitant to show his discontent with the proposed law and offered support for the Affordable Care Act. He said the fact that employers don't have to provide employees with health insurance is "inconsiderate to the many Americans who live pay check to pay check." To get a sense of what his overall take on healthcare was I asked him whether or not he thought healthcare was a right. In response to this he said "Yes, I think healthcare is a universal right."
Freshman Graham Wood, who identifies as a Republican said he thought Obamacare is too expensive and believes it needs to be repealed and replaced. Wood said that "employers should not have to provide employees for healthcare" based on the premise that Obamacare exerts to much government control. Even though Wood supports the idea of repealing Obamacare, he disagrees with certain aspects of the American Health Care Act. When asked whether or not he agrees with the tax breaks given to wealthy health insurers, Wood broke party lines and said that he did not think wealthy health insurers should get tax breaks. Wood is just one of many Republicans that do not fully support the American Health Care Act.
Sources
"The American Health Care Act." Speaker.gov. Speaker of the House of Representatives, 09 Mar. 2017. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.
Bade, Burgess Everett and Rachael, Josh Dawsey and Rachana Pradhan, Michael Peck, Jack Shafer, Zachary Karabell, and Michael Crowley. "GOP Conservatives Oppose Leaked Obamacare Plan." POLITICO. Politico, 27 Feb. 2017. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.
Bade, Burgess Everett and Rachael, Josh Dawsey and Rachana Pradhan, Michael Peck, Jack Shafer, Zachary Karabell, and Michael Crowley. "GOP Conservatives Oppose Leaked Obamacare Plan." POLITICO. Politico, 27 Feb. 2017. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.
Hellmann, Jessie. "Four GOP Senators Pledge to Vote against Rolling Back Medicaid Expansion." TheHill. The Hill, 06 Mar. 2017. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.
Peters, Jeremy W. "Why Republicans Are Battling Republicans on Obamacare Repeal." The New York Times. The New York Times, 09 Mar. 2017. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.