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GOP Presidential Hopefuls Still Eye 2016 Election as Chance to Repeal Obamacare
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Shortly after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the government in King v. Burwell, President Barack Obama triumphantly claimed that "Affordable Care Act is here to stay." However, the truth is that GOP presidential hopefuls have no intention of letting the law stand.
Shortly after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the government in King v. Burwell, President Barack Obama triumphantly claimed that “Affordable Care Act is here to stay.” However, the truth is that GOP presidential hopefuls have no intention of letting the law stand.
Although both legal challenges to the president’s health law has resulted in the Court upholding big parts of the legislation, opponents to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are looking to the 2016 presidential election as a way to stop Obamacare and replace it.
“I disagree with the Court’s ruling and believe they have once again erred in trying to correct the mistakes made by President Obama and Congress in forcing Obamacare on the American people,” Sen. Marco Rubio, one of the 2016 presidential hopefuls, said in a statement.
He would like to replace the law with his consumer-centered plan. Other hopefuls are a little more vague on what they would do if elected president. For instance, Jeb Bush has vowed to work with Congress to repeal and replace the law, but has neglected to outline with what.
Sen. Ted Cruz spoke on the Senate floor the day of the Supreme Court’s ruling and made it clear that repealing the ACA was one of his top goals if he was elected president.
“I remain fully committed to repealing every single word of Obamacare,” he said. “And mark my words, following the election in 2016, the referendum that we will have, in 2017 this chamber will return and we will repeal every word of Obamacare.”
However, by the time the 2016 election rolls around, the country will be gearing up for the fourth open enrollment period. Having 3 full years of tens of millions of people enrolled in ACA-sponsored plans could make it more difficult to take insurance away, Avik Roy, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, explained.
He believes that the last real chance for Republicans to repeal the ACA was the 2012 election.
“If you just repeal Obamacare for everybody and throw those 20 million people into chaos without certainty as to what they will actually get, I think that’s problematic,” he said in an interview with The American Journal of Managed Care.
“But that isn’t to say you cannot make significant changes to the law,” he added.
