And, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price, a medical doctor and a strong opponent of Obamacare when he was in the US House of Representatives, is still unequivocally in favor of ending Obamacare. There are plenty of things he can do from a regulatory standpoint, since the Obamacare law (passed, we remind everyone, 100% with Democratic votes) includes dozens of references along the lines of “The Secretary” shall decide or determine various ways in which the law shall be interpreted or enforced. The “Secretary” when the law was passed was President Obama’s appointee – but today’s Secretary is not, and he should respond appropriately.
What’s more, the Obamacare structure is collapsing of its own weight and will continue to do so, even if Republicans do nothing. However, that would be, potentially at least, irresponsible; so we hope that they manufacture a law that repeals Obamacare, and also find the votes to pass it.
Let’s face it – the failure to repeal has the potential of being a disaster for the Republicans; and that is why Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats were leaping for joy. The did so for two reasons: 1) the signature action of the Obama years has been preserved; and 2) the Republicans have disillusioned and dispirited their own base of support. There are many ways Republicans can recapture that support, but the best way is if they do what they said they would do: repeal the Obamacare law. For some reason that is beyond our understanding, a few Republicans succumbed to the fear that they would pay a fierce price at the polls if they voted to repeal. We have news for them: they will pay a much larger price at the polls if they do not. The Democrats know that – and that is why they are so gleeful.
Any repeal must be actuarially sound, must be economically sound, must advance free markets and avoid mandates, and must treat everyone equally – instead of doing what Obamacare did by bestowing favors on various groups.
The Democrats sweated blood during the legislative process for Obamacare and had to resort to parliamentary tricks to pass it; and, don’t forget, they paid a tremendous price at the polls for passing it. No one should expect that repealing it would be any easier.