Following his pulling of the American Health Care Act from Congress, late Friday, Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan spoke about the party's stance toward health care reform going forward, calling the issue "too important" to ignore. Speaker Ryan described the Affordable Care Act as a "collapsing law." Also known as Obamacare, the ACA was signed into law by former President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010.
President Donald Trump campaigned on a platform of repealing and replacing Obamacare as soon as he took office. The author of "The Art of the Deal," who once stated, "I alone can fix it," with regard to the nation's problems, was described breaking his own deal-making rules by an adviser to U.S.
Senator from Kentucky Rand Paul when he called for a vote on the AHCA in Congress last week, possibly appearing "too eager" to make a deal.
House speaker: 'coverage for everyone' versus 24-26 million losing coverage
At his press conference, Paul Ryan stated that the goal of the Republican Party was to "advance the cause of freedom, and limited government," and to make it "easier for families to pay their bills." He professed a desire for a health care system that provides "affordable coverage" for everyone, and a belief that this would result from more competition and choice. "We don't want a government-run health care system," Ryan underlined. It has been noted that his proposed legislation, the AHCA, would have resulted in 24-26 million Americans losing insurance coverage.
The speaker of the House detailed a "Congressional review act measure" aimed at striking "bad regulations." The Insurance Journal reports that an order scheduled to be presented to President Trump Tuesday will roll back a "raft of rules and directives to combat climate change." Ryan stated that the Republican-controlled Congress has sent 10 such measures to the president for approval.
He continued that the conservatives were "committed" to revamping the armed forces, securing the borders, tax reform, and rebuilding America's infrastructure.
Bernie Sanders proposes 'Medicare for all'
Stating his view that Obamacare is damaging families, Speaker Ryan insisted that Republicans would, with time, get health care legislation "right," and while that work continues, the party is going to move ahead with other initiatives "we came here to do." Following Ryan, Kevin McCarthy, the Republican majority leader, stated that the party had been tasked to "repeal and replace Obamacare, and that's exactly what we're going to do."
On Sunday, U.S.
Senator from Vermont Bernie Sanders announced his intention to introduce legislation he described as a "single-payer Medicare-for-all" program. Research from the Kaiser Family Foundation and Pew Research shows over 60 percent of Americans holding a positive view of government-run healthcare. Alex Lawson, the executive director with Social Security Works, has suggested that the government take small steps, first lowering the qualifying Medicare age to 62, and eventually "down to zero."
