Earlier this week, the Republican Party finally rolled out their alternative to the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Since the bill was introduced, backlash has followed, but that hasn't stopped House Speaker Paul Ryan from defending their efforts.
Ryan on health care
When Barack Obama was elected president back in 2008, he made enacting a total change in the American health care system one of his top priorities. After just over a year in office, Obamacare was singed into law, but that didn't stop the opposition from fighting back. For the next eight years, Republicans did their best to repeal the law, taking a floor vote over 60 times and using millions of taxpayer dollars to do so in the process.
However, since the election of Donald Trump, and with Republicans controlling all of Congress, it was only a matter of time before a "repeal and replace" started to gain traction. These issues were on display with Rep. Paul Ryan during a March 12 interview on CBS' "Face the Nation."
How many people are going to lose coverage under ACA? @SpeakerRyan: "I can't answer that question. It's up to people." pic.twitter.com/4RFsbqBXiR
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) March 12, 2017
Joining CBS News host John Dickerson was Paul Ryan, who did his best to defend the GOP health care alternative known as the American Health Care Act. Paul admitted that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is likely to come out and find that the latest bill will not cover as many people, explaining, "this isn't a government mandate."
How many people will lose coverage under the new legislation? @SpeakerRyan says “I can't answer that question. It's up to people.”
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) March 12, 2017
When John Dickerson asked straight out how many people will lose coverage if Obamacare is repealed and replaced with the Republican alternative, and Paul Ryan smiled, while answering, "I can't answer that question.
It's up to people." "Here's the premise of your question. Are you going to stop mandating people buy health insurance?” Ryan said while sitting up in his seat. "People are going to do what they want to do with their lives because we believe in individual freedom in this country," the Speaker of the House continued. Ryan then explained that the Repubican bill will allegedly provide Americans better access to coverage, without the mandate by government to do so.
Next up
Since the bill's reveal, even some Republicans have pushed back. Though Paul Ryan appears proud of what House Republicans have put forward, Sen. Rand Paul has voiced his opposition, engaging into a public spat over the issue, despite the call from Donald Trump to unify behind the bill.
