In a recent Hayes Management Consulting blog, Don Michaels, Ph.D. explains how the views of Trump, Ryan, and Price tell us what to expect about the ACA replacement.
"They're like the dog that caught the bus."
That was the comment from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in a January episode of This Week with George Stephanopoulos referring to the GOP and their pledge to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act aka Obamacare.
In the more than six years after the passage of ACA, the House of Representatives voted to repeal it 60 times.[1] In December 2015, the Senate used a special budgetary procedure to approve one of the bills with simple majority vote instead of the 60-vote threshold normally needed for major legislation. As expected, President Obama promptly vetoed the bill. But the GOP had finally made a statement.
With the election of President Trump and a majority in both houses of Congress, Republicans can now make policy and do what they have been promising to do since the controversial law was passed in 2009. The GOP has finally caught the bus.
President Trump campaigned on "repeal and replace." He appointed Georgia Representative and physician Dr. Tom Rice to head the Department of Health and Human Services with the express goal of dismantling the ACA. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has been consistent in his desire to repeal and replace the law.
The intent is clear, but the method for accomplishing the long-stated goal is murky. Republicans appear to be in conflict over the approach they need to take with ideas ranging from immediate repeal to a process that could take years. Predicting the ultimate Republican action is dicey at best, but based on the comments and stated plans of the three main players – Trump, Ryan, and Rice - there are several provisions we will probably see in any ACA replacement plan.
Paul Ryan has offered his blueprint in a policy document titled "A Better Way." Dr. Rice, a former orthopedic surgeon, has been submitting the "Empowering Patients First Act" every year since 2009. The proposed legislation outlines the HHS secretary's vision for the country's healthcare system. President Trump's campaign paper on healthcare reform, and comments made on the campaign trail and since his inauguration provide insight on how he might approach the ACA replacement.