Congressman Chris Collins says Obamacare will stay in place as is until 2019 'or later' because it's too late for changes for the 2017 Insurance year. 'We're not going to pull the rug out from under anyone. So there's no reason to worry the next two years,' he said Thursday morning on MSNBC.
The Trump Transition Team member affirmed that Republicans would follow a strategy that's been nicknamed 'Repeal and Delay' because it keeps key components of the Health Law in effect until after the midterm Elections in 2018.
Democrats are blasting the approach as 'cynical.' It allows Republicans to claim on the stump that they fulfilled their promise to get rid of Obamacare before changes their constituents might not like kick in.
Senator Rand Paul has been pushing his fellow Republicans to repeal and replace the Law all at once so they aren't blamed for higher premiums and other Obamacare byproduct that could give consumers grief. He opposed a resolution yesterday that Republicans are using as vehicle to strip the Health Law. It narrowly made it through with 51 votes. Paul said Wednesday on Morning Joe, 'We need to think through how we do this, and it's a huge mistake for Republicans if they do not vote for replacement on the same day as we vote for repeal.' He warned Tuesday, in an op-ed on the Conservative website Rare, 'If Congress fails to vote on a replacement at the same time as repeal, the repealers risk assuming the blame for the continued unraveling of Obamacare.
'For mark my words, Obamacare will continue to unravel and wreak havoc for years to come.'
The Republican Senator also said his colleagues were wrong to keep a provision that protects consumers with Pre-Existing Conditions and do away with the Individual Mandate that requires every American to have Health Insurance or pay a Government Fine. 'If you repeal this mandate, but leave in place dictates as to whom may purchase insurance, you create a business model doomed to fail,' he said.
Nancy Pelosi, the Top-Ranking Democrat in the House, made a similar point on a Conference call Monday. 'They say that they want to keep preexisting condition provision. Well, if you have that without the rest of the bill, you will have a very big, expensive policy that you probably can’t afford,' she said. 'That’s why people didn’t have it before because they couldn’t afford it before.'
One of the first things the Repeal would do is remove the Mandate. But the Mandate is one of the foundations of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Republicans will hold meetings with Health and Insurance Experts, Governors, and hold Congressional Hearings to flush out their Replace Options in 2017.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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