Republicans Quietly Make an Important Fix To Obamacare That Democrats Wanted

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While they publicly scream for the law’s repeal, House Republicans have made another quiet fix to the ACA that Democrats wanted.

The AP reported:

At the prodding of business organizations, House Republicans quietly secured a recent change in President Barack Obama’s health law to expand coverage choices, a striking, one-of-a-kind departure from dozens of high-decibel attempts to repeal or dismember it.

Democrats describe the change involving small-business coverage options as a straightforward improvement of the type they are eager to make, and Obama signed it into law. Republicans are loath to agree, given the strong sentiment among the rank and file that the only fix the law deserves is a burial.

….

No member of the House GOP leadership has publicly hailed the fix, which was tucked, at Republicans’ request, into legislation preventing a cut in payments to doctors who treat Medicare patients.

Reps. John Boehner (R-OH) and Eric Cantor (R-VA) did such a good job of hiding the fix in the bill that many House Republicans might have had no idea that they were voting on this Obamacare fix. Last month, House Republican leaders introduced three fixes to the ACA while their party was distracted by CPAC.

It is obvious that House Republican leaders intend to fix the unintended consequences of the law, as they simultaneously campaign on destroying Obamacare. Republican voters are being lied to by their own leaders. The Republican led House seems to have no intention of getting rid of the ACA. If they were serious about getting rid of it, why would they pass improvements?

House Republicans have a political interest in keeping the ACA on the books. If Republicans repealed the law, they couldn’t campaign against it anymore. Republicans believe that Obamacare is one of the few issues that will get their voters to the polls, so their actions will continue to not match their words.

There is no bigger sign of totality of the GOP defeat on the ACA than these quiet fixes that House Republican leaders continue to pass.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association