Republican Senator and ally of President Trump in the Senate, Tom Cotton, took a swipe at the health care plans of Republicans.
Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas cast doubts on the three-phase plan of the GOP to repeal the Affordable Care Act. According to him, the replacement bill for the ACA will not pass the Senate if there are no changes. He also labeled the talk of the process that will entail three steps as a ‘political spin.’
“There’s no three-phase process or a three-step plan. This is just obviously political talk. It is just politicians doing what they do best: engaging in spin,” Sen. Cotton claimed on a radio show hosted by Hugh Hewitt.
House Speaker, Paul Ryan, and the White House have outlined a three-step plan for repealing and replacing the ACA, otherwise called as Obamacare. This is to fulfill a promise that has been made by the GOP during the campaign period. With the three-phase process, the GOP plans to replace Obamacare with AHCA or American Health Care Act. The bill is currently being faced with opposition both from conservative and moderate Republicans in Congress. Budget reconciliation has been used by Republicans, which means it will only require 51 votes in the chamber. The GOP, as of now, holds 52 seats.
After which, administrative actions by Tom Price, the Secretary of Health & Human Services, and by the present administration have to take place. This will be followed with more legislation, including the passing of a law that will allow insurance sales across all state lines.
Sen. Cotton claimed that the second step of the administration’s three-step plan will face court challenges. Also, it is likely that it will get stuck in the country’s judicial system. Meanwhile, the third phase won’t be able to use the process of budget reconciliation which is what the GOP is currently using for the bill. It would require support from the Democrats to pass the Senate.
The conservative Senator thinks that these hurdles won’t be cleared and there is less chance of them being so.
“If we had several Democratic votes, then there would be no need for us to undergo three steps. All that needs to be done, if this was the case, is to put the legislation together. That is why it is crucial that the legislation for this is done right because there is definitely no step three,” exclaimed Cotton.
Even Republican senators claimed that they oppose the bill, especially in its present form. This means that passage will most likely be impossible in the chamber. In a report by VOX, at least twelve GOP senators publicly showed objections to some portions of the AHCA bill.
A politician, John Boehner, commented on the plan of Republicans to repeal Obamacare. He said that there is just one thing certain about the health care and of Republicans: they will never decide on a single plan. This may be good news for Democrats but the healthcare plan of the American people has to be updated or improved.
