U.S. House and Senate to Vote on Obamacare Repeal

CONGRESS, SUPREME COURT BOTH ACTING ON CONTROVERSIAL 2010 LAW

by Sharon Rondeau

(Feb. 2, 2015) — On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on repealing Obamacare, a promise made by Speaker John Boehner just after the November elections.

In the new 114th Congress sworn in early last month, the House has voted in favor of changing two aspects of the law which excludes include military veterans in a company’s number of employees and raised the definition of a full-time work week from Obamacare’s 30 hours to 40 hours.

In a Monday evening tweet, The Washington Times reported that Republicans are bringing forward their own health plan which, if passed, would serve as an alternative to Obamacare.  However, the article appeared to have been pulled shortly after it was posted or otherwise was unavailable.

In the Senate, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has unveiled a companion proposal, co-sponsored by 44 senators, to that which the House is considering.  In his proposal, Cruz referenced the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court hearing beginning March 4 on a case challenging the establishing of a federal health care exchange which was not expressly permitted by the wording of the bill, passed in March 2010, without one Republican vote.

In a January 27 article, The Hill reported that “The House will vote next week on a bill to undermine the 2010 healthcare overhaul in what will be close to the 60th time over the last four years.”  The author, Cristina Marcos, utilized the same word, “undermine,” which House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi used in a statement made to the publication on the upcoming vote.  Marcos did not obtain a quote from a Republican on the matter.

On January 19, a writer for Forbes stated that the Republicans had no alternative for Obamacare, but The Daily Caller reported exactly one year ago that an alternative was under development. Dr. Ben Carson, formerly head of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Medical Center and a possible presidential candidate, reportedly met with Republicans last year to develop a viable alternative to Obama’s “signature” legislation.

Republicans have reportedly formed a committee to develop a plan to replace Obamacare.  On January 29, the UK Daily Mail reported that during the vote this week, “Republicans will also have a chance to present long-promised alternatives to the ACA, which House Speaker John Boehner says are in the works.”

Reuters also reported in mid-January that health insurance company executives claimed at a health care conference that Obamacare “is too entrenched to be removed.”

On Monday evening, Yahoo! News is presenting numerous positive stories on Obamacare.  The deadline for this year for applicants to enroll in the federal exchange is February 15.  CBS News reports that Obamacare premiums and penalties for Americans choosing not to buy insurance are higher than in 2014.

Obamacare, whose official name is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), requires virtually all citizens to purchase a qualified health care plan or enroll in the expanded Medicaid program in their state if it exists.  In June 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states could not be “coerced” to expand Medicaid as a result of the PPACA.

As reported by the Pew Charitable Trusts, a total of 28 states plus the District of Columbia have expanded Medicaid to allow more individuals to obtain coverage.

The cost of health care has been reported to have risen rather than been reduced, as promised by Obama before passage of the law.  Millions of Americans lost health plans they liked only to find that available replacement plans were considerably more expensive and covered fewer services and prescriptions.

Obama has promised to veto a bill repealing the PPACA.  Constitutionally, overriding a presidential veto requires a two-thirds majority of both chambers of Congress to take effect.