close
close

Jeffries hits back after Johnson says GOP is considering changes to Obamacare

Posted on by L. Dreeye
Jeffries hits back after Johnson says GOP is considering changes to Obamacare

play

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson said Republicans will not try to repeal the Affordable Care Act — despite an announcement this week that GOP lawmakers are eyeing a health care overhaul.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says we shouldn’t believe it.

Republicans have repeatedly tried to repeal the landmark 2010 health care law known as Obamacare, which now enjoys strong support from most Americans, Jeffries noted in an exclusive interview with USA TODAY.

“House Republicans have been obsessed with repealing the Affordable Care Act since 2010, when it was first passed. This is clear as day to the American people, and it has now been confirmed by many members of the House Republican leadership,” Jeffries said. “They are determined to end the Affordable Care Act as we know it.”

The landmark health care law expanded Medicaid, forced insurers to cover patients with pre-existing conditions and required coverage of preventive care. It also allowed young people to continue using their parents’ health insurance until age 26 and introduced a number of consumer protections for people buying individual insurance.

Although controversial at the time it was made, it is popular today. More than 60% of Americans have a positive view of this.

But what did Johnson say? In a video first published by NBC, the speaker told attendees at a campaign event in Pennsylvania on Monday night that health care reform will be part of the Republican agenda in the first 100 days of the new Congress if Republicans win both chambers and White House. House.

“No Obamacare?” a crowd member asked Johnson after the speaker said the GOP wanted to “bring a blowtorch to the regulatory state.”

“No Obamacare,” he replied. “The ACA is so deeply entrenched that we need major reform to make it work, and we have a lot of ideas on how to do that.”

Johnson’s comments have made the health law a major campaign issue in the final days before the election. Which party wins the House remains everyone’s question, and Johnson and Jeffries are traveling the country in search of vulnerable lawmakers.

Democrats seized on Johnson’s comments as an indicator that the party plans to try again to repeal the law, while Johnson said he “made no such promise.”

Johnson said Democrats misinterpreted his remarks, and former President Donald Trump’s campaign said he has no plans to end the ACA. Trump promised during his 2016 campaign to repeal the law.

In an interview with Fox News on Thursday, Johnson told the outlet, “What we’ve talked about is that we’re constantly looking to lower the cost of health care for people, protect people with pre-existing conditions… expand access to health care and the quality of health care,” Johnson said. , accusing Democrats of “lying” about his position.

Jeffries said USA TODAY voters shouldn’t buy that explanation. He cited a CNN interview in which National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Rep. Richard Hudson said there are bipartisan things Congress can do to expand access and reduce health care costs, before adding: “I agree with the Speaker that we you should look at the situation carefully. in our health policy.”

Democrats have also proposed changes to the current health care law, including Vice President Kamala Harris’ plan to expand home care benefits for seniors. But Jeffries told USA TODAY that “we as House Democrats are committed to protecting the Affordable Care Act.”

The most recent attempt by Republicans to rein in the Affordable Care Act failed in 2017, while Trump was president, when three Senate Republicans joined Senate Democrats to kill the bill.

This election cycle, Trump has remained vague about his plans for health care reform if he is re-elected.

“I’m going to save the Affordable Care Act unless we can do something much better,” Trump said in August. “We’ll keep it. It stinks. This is not good. If we can do something better, we’re going to do something about it, if we can do something better, which is to give you less expensive and better health care.”

Other Republicans continue to push for repeal of the health care legislation. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, reposted Johnson’s comments Thursday and wrote, “Kill Obamacare now.”

Asked during a presidential debate in September to clarify his plan, Trump said he had “concepts of a plan” to change the ACA.