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The House succeeded in passing a repeal of the Affordable Care Act today, by a vote of 244-185. This is, according to House Republicans, the 33rd time they have repealed some or all of the law in the 112th Congress.
Five Democrats voted with the majority Republicans to repeal the bill. All of them had voted against the ACA in March 2010. The five are Dan Boren (D-OK), Larry Kissell (D-NC), Jim Matheson (D-UT), Mike McIntyre (D-NC) and Mike Ross (D-AR). Boren and Ross are retiring this year; Kissell and McIntyre were gerrymandered into very difficult, nigh impossible, districts in North Carolina; and Matheson always has trouble winning re-election in conservative Utah, and will have more trouble this year, as his district got redder.
The bill will now crawl into a black hole and die. The Senate might get a vote on repeal, through an amendment attached to a small business tax measure, that will probably need a 60-vote threshold, and almost certainly fail. But that’s about it.
But Republicans contended that they wanted to put all members on the record about the law, which was found mostly constitutional by the Supreme Court two weeks ago. This was theater on a grand scale, with the attendant talk of massive tax increases and government takeovers of health care, the kind of sober talk we’ve come to expect from this debate.
The loud voices on repeal mask the quieter actions being taken in the states, where Republican governors have threatened to simply not implement the law. This threatens the coverage of millions of low-income Americans who would otherwise become eligible for Medicaid. It also could spur additional court battles over whether federally-run exchanges (when a state refuses to enact the insurance exchanges, marketplaces for individuals who need to purchase insurance, that feds can create the exchange) can provide coverage subsidies to individuals under the law. This effort, and not what Congress will do in the next several months, will serve to undermine the law’s effectiveness, if the governors continue to resist.
As for Congress and their unending series of electorally-motivated machinations and message votes, Chris Van Hollen summed it up today. “It’s no wonder the American people think so little of this institution.”
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Of course, they offer no alternative. For them, this is strictly about partisan posturing and being lazy, bratty, overgrown children.
Al Grayson was wrong when he said the GOP plan is ‘die quickly,’ right GOP?
And let’s not forget they voted unanimously against it to begin with, despite being a capitulation to their idea of a Mandate and 100 other things. The GOP needs to be eliminated.
“ddayen @jblumgart add’l implication of ruling, though, is states can decrease their Medicaid rolls w/o sanction, b/c MOE rules expire in 2014″
“Several of my friends who became ill moved from CA to Oregon.” –a comment from Jon Walker’s piece on Medicaid.
Seems to me that the Democrats have handed the Republicans exactly what they want. The dismantlement of Medicaid and they can have their theater about how they oppose the act that gets it done for them.
“This threatens the coverage of millions of low-income Americans who would otherwise become eligible for Medicaid.”
This exposes the utter incompetence of the democratic party. The Medicaid expansion was a poison pill from the word go. The insurance companies reap a bonus from the mandate and the neediest get screwed. Any democrat that says they didn’t see this coming is either lying or stupid.
The 1% win again.
The Non-FDR Democratic Party was taken over long ago. It effectively kettles opposition.
That’s what the Democratic Party does brilliantly. (Though, now that the house is aflame, we’re starting to smell the smoke).
And isn’t that what the picture looks like? Hardly see how they can stand to preen and look at each other….Very sad.
They are circling the drain as we speak. By 2016 the demographic slide against them will accelerate, and the elections won’t even be close enough to steal anymore.
It’s ridiculous.
AHCA has a mandate? obligation to buy insurance from rapacious insurers?
well done,you must do it again next month,every month a repeal would be fine with me.
What’s the definition of insanity again. The GOP proves it’s insane, over and over again.