Obamacare Lives On
- 03/25/2017 by Linda Perry (WBAI News)


Trump administration meets with all-male Freedom Caucus on healthcare reforms affecting pregnancy and maternity care.
In a stinging defeat for Donald Trump and the Republican Party, the GOP healthcare bill put forward to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act is dead. House Speaker Paul Ryan pulled the bill because it was not going to get the 216 votes needed to move on. It wasn't only Democrats who were firmly united against the bill. It also lacked support from Republican Moderates and the Conservative Freedom Caucus, formerly the Tea Party. House Speaker Paul Ryan said, "We're going to be living with Obamacare for the foreseeable future."

Donald Trump, the man who touts himself as a deal-maker, during the campaign and after he was elected continually said he would repeal and replace Obamacare. In February he tweeted  “We will immediately repeal and replace ObamaCare - and nobody can do that like me. We will save $'s and have much better healthcare!” Now his deal making ability is called into question. Trump's failure and whether he can lead a dysfunctional party has critics salivating.

Meanwhile the defeat brings relief to the estimated twenty-four million who would have lost health insurance under the GOP plan, people like Juana Alvares, a member of Make the Road New York. She said, "I am so relieved to know that my three children and I won't lose our access to healthcare! Thank you to all of the representatives who pledged to vote against TrumpCare and prevented the vote. This is a huge victory for our communities who deserve access to affordable, high quality healthcare."

After the bill was pulled, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said, “This week Washington showed the people of this nation a disgusting display of government at its worst. We saw members of Congress openly bribe one-another at the expense of their own constituents.” According to the Governor, the plan would have cost New York taxpayers $6.9 billion, take health coverage away from 2.7 million New Yorkers, and put more than half a million healthcare-related jobs at risk.