U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., agreed early today to drop his legislative attempt to delay repealing the Affordable Care Act until President-elect Trump has a chance to develop his own alternative.
Corker was among a handful of Republican who had previously co-sponsored an amendment to delay any vote on a budget reconciliation required for Republicans to repeal the so-called Obamacare until March to give more time to develop an alternative to the health care plan adopted in 2010.
Corker said in a statement he is encouraged that GOP leaders have moved from simply repealing Obamacare to also finding a replacement plan at the same time. The Republican-controlled Senate approved a procedural vote early today to allow for a simple majority vote in the Senate through budget reconciliation to repeal Obamacare. The Senate gave a deadline of Jan. 27 to develop a new health care plan.
Both Corker and his fellow Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander have previously voiced caution about just repealing the entire Affordable Care Act without a replacement for many of the most popular features of Obamare. Alexander has urged a three-part plan to repeal and replace Obamare over the next several months.
Both Corker and Alexander have condemned the Affordable Care Act as too expensive and burdensome for both businesses and consumers.
“The Affordable Care Act has led to high premiums, rising out-of-pocket costs, and reduced choice across the Volunteer State, and I am pleased Congress has initiated the repeal and replace process,” Corker said before voting with 50 other Republicans for a budget reconciliation measure that will allow the Senate to overturn Obamacare with a simple majority vote in the Senate. “We need a health care system that works for the American people, and I am encouraged that the debate has shifted in recent weeks from ‘repeal only’ to ‘repeal and replace’ in a thoughtful and deliberative manner.”
Trump said Wednesday that Congress needs to repeal and replace Obamacare, which is called “a total disaster” because of its cost to both consumers and businesses.
The president-elect said his designated cabinet choice for Health and Human Services, Georgia Congressman Tom Price, will quickly develop a replacement health care plan along with GOP congressional leaders after he is confirmed.
“It is important to provide the incoming Trump administration, including its top health care official Dr. Tom Price, with time to review the regulatory and legislative steps needed to replace the Affordable Care Act with a responsible alternative that works well for Tennesseans and does not waste taxpayer resources,” Corker said.
Corker, a member of the Senate banking committee, has voiced concern about rising budget deficits, which could be pushed higher if congress repeals the taxes that are included in the Affordable Care Act but does not move to limit government expenses in any replacement program.
The House of Representatives is expected to vote Friday on repealing Obamacare. Trump and Republicans in Congress have said they will offer a better program to cover uninsured Americans. But they have yet to detail the specifics on such a plan, including how it would work and how it would be paid for.
In Chattanooga, a group of nearly two dozen supporters of the Affordable Care Act met with representatives of Sens. Corker and Alexander on Wednesday to urge them to have an effective health care replacement plan in place before repealing the existing law. The supporters said that Obamacare has helped each of them to get medical insurance – and some claim the law has saved the lives of family members.
Pat Combs, a mother of a 26-year-old daughter with a history of endometriosis who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, said Obamacare has allowed her daughter to be on her plan and continue to get the health care coverage she needs. The Affordable Care Act extended health care benefits to the dependents of those with insurance up to age 26.
“There is no way she could have afforded the drugs without insurance,” Combs said of her daughter. “Obamacare saved her life and she will be forever grateful. If she did not have coverage just one of medications would cost almost $300 a month and now she pays just $25 a month.”
Melody Shakari, a Democrat who ran unsuccessfully for Congress, said she has long dreamed of starting her own business and the Affordable Care Act helped those dreams by providing assistance and better after-tax rates for individuals starting careers without employer-paid health insurance.
“This instability (of not knowing the future of Obamacare) means that I will have to put aside my plans to start a business or work with a startup company and find a job that can cover my health insurance needs affordably,” she said.