The (AHCA)Affordable Health Care Act has been pulled before the vote. The numbers cited by Donald Trump, in the press briefing this afternoon suggest that there was, in fact, less Republican support for the bill today than there was yesterday. The Republicans that would not vote for the bill gave several reasons for a lack of support including, that an estimated 24 million more would be uninsured by 2046 than under the current plan or that the bill did not go far enough to remove government subsidized health care benefits.
Trump put the blame solely on the Democratic Party because of their complete lack of support for the bill. The President praised Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, for his work on the bill and on getting the votes it would need, although he was ultimately unable to do so.
At the same time, Trump continued to push the false narrative that (Obamacare aka the ACA)Affordable Care Act was a complete failure by once again cherry picking information and misrepresenting the costs of Obamacare to the consumer. He cited percentage increases in states without mentioning any of the circumstances around those percentages. He also failed to mention that the repeal of Obamacare would remove key provisions including the denial of insurance for those with pre-existing conditions, one of the hallmark signatures of Obamacare.
The bill ultimately failed due to a lack of support from both sides of the aisle. The President left the option of repealing and replacing Obamacare open in the future, as he assured the cameras and Americans that Obamacare would fail within the next year as we watched insurance companies pull out of the system and premiums rise for those enrolled. If Trump is sure Obamacare is truly headed for failure within 2017, it is unfortunate that the White House would choose to let it do so on the basis of politics, rather than continue to fight for the healthcare of Americans.ƒ
