The efforts made to dismantle the Affordable Care Act which was created by Barack Obama, failed for the second time in two months. This is a serious defeat for Donald Trump who dislikes this healthcare law created in 2010 because the republicans couldn't win support from their own Senators. According to a report by Reuters, the Senator Ron Johnson stated that they ran out of time and his political party will try to reform this in the future, after trying to make changes to the American tax code. This is a difficult moment for the Republicans, as Trump promised to get rid of this Health Law in his political campaign.
This health law is also known as Obamacare and it provides health care to about 20 million Americans.
A difficult moment
The Republicans will have to fight for success in Congress over the next months, and they could be punished by voters in the coming elections. The Republican's project was rejected by the Senate in July. They tried again with a bill that would give the money to the states, so, they would regulate their own health systems. Many Republican Senators decided not to back the bill. Senator Susan Collins stated that it undermined the Medicaid program for the people of scarce economic resources, and was harmful to those who suffer asthma, diabetes, and cancer.
Two different viewpoints
According to a report by Reuters, Obamacare provided health care to 20 million people, but many Republicans disliked it because they thought that it was too expensive. The opponents of this program also stated that the government was meddling too much in the health sector and that it made the rich Americans pay heavy taxes.
Trump was disappointed by the fact that some Republicans didn't agree with him. The Republican party has a small advantage in the U.S. Senate, which is 52-48. The Graham-Cassidy bill wanted to dismantle Obamacare, but it was disapproved by 52 percent of the Americans, and just 20 percent approve of it.
A new priority
The Congressional Budget Office found that cutting spending in health care would have meant they could save $1 trillion over the next ten years if the bill had been approved.
John Thune, a Republican in the U.S. Senate, stated that his political party wouldn't try to undo Obamacare until there's evidence that the efforts will be successful, according to a report by The Washington Times. Fox News reported that he said, “The focus is trying to get the votes for this right now, but if for some reason we have to pivot, I think the next step is to move tax reform, and I think that needs to be our focus. This is an issue the American people care deeply about.”
