A record number of people signing up for Obamacare policies. Nine more states expanding Medicaid coverage to more than 2 million adults. Much higher favorability ratings among the public. Another victory for the landmark health reform law in the nation’s highest court.
These are among the main reasons why it would be even tougher than it was in 2017 for Republicans to try to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, even if they secure control of the White House and Congress next year.
The 13-year-old law is even more embedded in the nation’s health care system than it was when former President Donald Trump took office, vowing to kill Obamacare. But he and the Republican lawmakers who controlled Congress ultimately failed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act after months of unsuccessful attempts to come up with an alternative.
Obamacare’s future is once again in the spotlight after Trump, who is running for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, unexpectedly posted on his Truth Social site last month that Republicans should “never give up” trying to terminate the law and that he would replace it with “MUCH BETTER HEALTHCARE.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is also vying for the Republican nomination, followed suit, saying that he would “replace and supersede” the Affordable Care Act with “a better plan” since “Obamacare has not worked.” The law took plenty of heat during Wednesday’s fourth GOP presidential debate.
But most of the nation, particularly Republican voters and many GOP lawmakers, have moved on from trying to repeal and replace the law.
And while Obamacare had a rocky start, with enrollment coming lower than expected in the federal and state exchanges, insurers dropping out of the marketplaces and many Republican-led states refusing to expand Medicaid, it has since stabilized.
More than 40…
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