Says the woman who jammed this stinker through Congress in the dead of night without a single Republican vote. Everyone who now has “affordable” health coverage as a result of Obamacare, please raise your hands.
House Democrats lobbed a preemptive salvo Monday against Republicans itching to kick-start their Obamacare repeal effort once the new Congress gavels in, calling the effort an “act of cowardice” and reckless “assault” on health care for millions and conservative orthodoxy alike, since repeal is projected to raise the deficit.
They also said Republicans would pay a political price in their rush to dismantle President Obama’s signature domestic achievement, now that the GOP will be playing with live bullets alongside President-elect Donald Trump after years of political maneuvering.
“You break it, you own it,” Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said.
Stung by a November election that handed Republicans the keys to health reform, Democrats are scrambling to combat the GOP’s plans to use a fast-track budget tool to gut the Affordable Care Act on majority votes in either chamber — bypassing a Democratic filibuster in the Senate — within the first few months of 2017, even though they haven’t settled on a replacement. […]
“The purpose of the ACA was to lower costs, to improve benefits and to increase access. The ACA has made transformative progress in doing all three,” Mrs. Pelosi, California Democrat, said.
Yet Republicans say Obamacare is collapsing under its own weight, as insurers flee its web-based exchanges and premiums in the individual market jump by double digits, so it is time to fulfill its campaign promise and provide immediate “relief” from heavy mandates and coverage requirements alongside Mr. Trump, who has publicly backed their plans.