The U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of repealing the Affordable Care Act by a narrow four-vote margin, putting into motion the revamped Affordable Health Care Act to head towards the U.S. Senate. According to critics of the new plan, millions could lose health care they’re currently receiving under the current law.
A repeal of the health care law that was enacted under the reign of President Barack Obama has been a focus of President Donald Trump and others on the Right who see the act as flawed. After an earlier version of the Trump-endorsed version of the health care act was dismissed by both Republicans and Democrats, changes were made to appeal to moderate House GOP members who were on the fence.
CNBC reports:
The vote, which President Donald Trump was planning to tout as a big victory, sends the Republican-sponsored bill to gut Obamacare to the Senate for consideration.
But winning approval for the bill could be even more difficult in the Senate than it has been in the House, where Republican leaders struggled for nearly two months to wrangle enough votes in their caucus to secure its passage.
The bill passed by a vote of 217 to 213, which was one more “yes” vote that was needed for passage.
All 193 Democrats voting opposed the bill. They were joined by 20 Republicans voting “no.”
House Speaker Paul Ryan was optimistic ahead of the vote that his fellow GOP members would pull off the much-needed victory for the Trump Administration, which has been floundering of late in regards to its campaign promises.
The Affordable Health Care Act, as understood, has the potential to leave over 24 million people without health insurance. Under the new law, patients who have pre-existing conditions may not get health coverage at affordable costs. The bill also suggests increases in premium plan prices, and how programs such as individual health plans and Medicaid would be funded.
Opponents of the AHCA are hoping that the Senate will kick back the bill to the House and negotiate fairer terms. However, there isn’t any guarantee that the Senate won’t vote in favor of the bill.
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Photo: Lawrence Jackson – whitehouse.gov, Public Domain, Link
