Some Republicans Try to Head Off a Health Care Calamity - The New York Times

"President-elect Donald Trump and other Republican leaders may be determined to repeal the Affordable Care Act immediately, but a few more sensible members of the party are now trying to slow down this runaway train. They recognize the danger in destroying a program that directly benefits 22 million Americans — and indirectly millions more by controlling costs — without a plan to replace it.
That perhaps obvious insight has yet to penetrate Mr. Trump’s reality distortion field. He said on Tuesday that Congress should vote to repeal the law as early as next week and replace it with new legislation “very shortly thereafter.” His statements once again demonstrated cluelessness or indifference to how laws are made, especially in a field as complicated as health care. Most experts think that it could well take years for lawmakers to replace a law that requires insurers to sell affordable policies to people with pre-existing medical conditions, provides subsidies to help people buy insurance and encourages doctors and hospitals to reduce unnecessary and expensive medical procedures.
The House speaker, Paul Ryan, claimed on Tuesday that Republicans would try to repeal and replace the law “concurrently.” He offered few details, but his statement suggests Congress won’t repeal the A.C.A. for several months at least. On Monday, five Republican senators — Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Bob Corker of Tennessee, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rob Portman of Ohio — faced up to that reality. They proposed slowing down a budgetary process designed by congressional leaders to effectively kill the most important parts of Obamacare by defunding them…."

Some Republicans Try to Head Off a Health Care Calamity - The New York Times: ""

(Via.)