At yesterday’s White House event on the Affordable Care Act, President Joe Biden made a point to emphasize that while the health care law is working, its opponents haven’t given up.
“In fact, just last month, the distinguished senator from Wisconsin said: If Republicans get back in power, they should try to repeal the Affordable Care Act again,” Biden said. “Today, 12 years later, Republicans have not stopped their attacks on this lifesaving law. So, pay very close attention, folks: If Republicans have their way, it means 100 million Americans with pre-existing conditions can once again be denied healthcare coverage by their insurance companies.”
It was about a month ago when Sen. Ron Johnson appeared on a conservative radio talk show, and as The Washington Post reported, the Wisconsin Republican suggested ACA repeal would be on the table in a GOP-led Congress.
“For example, if we’re going to repeal and replace Obamacare — I still think we need to fix our health-care system — we need to have the plan ahead of time so that once we get in office, we can implement it immediately, not knock around like we did last time and fail,” the senator said.
It’s worth emphasizing the fact that the Wisconsin Republican isn’t alone.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported: At the northeast Georgia Republican candidate forum over the weekend, four Republican Senate contenders each signaled support for repealing the Affordable Care Act. While Herschel Walker was a no-show, he’s also criticized the healthcare law over the years.
The larger point is that when given an opportunity, these Republican Senate hopefuls were unanimous in their opposition to the Affordable Care Act. For these statewide candidates, scrapping the landmark reform law was a foregone conclusion.
In practical terms, that would of course mean millions of Americans would lose their coverage; protections for those with pre-existing conditions would disappear; families would once again face annual and lifetime caps; and on and on.
If Democrats were literally writing their own script for how the 2022 midterm elections would unfold, they’d likely put this at the top of their list: Republicans want to repeal the Affordable Care Act again, so let’s have a months-long debate over health care.
The more GOP senators and Senate candidates keep that door open, the more competitive this year’s elections are likely to be.
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