Obama Calls GOP Plan To Delay Health Law Replacement ‘Reckless’
In a commentary in the New England Journal of Medicine, the president acknowledges that the Affordable Care Act has problems but says if Republicans' don't have a firm plan for replacing it when they seek to repeal the law, they could do immense damage to consumers. Meanwhile, Democrats ask their Republican colleagues to compromise on modifying the existing law.
The Associated Press:
Obama Derides 'Reckless' Plan To Repeal Now, Replace Later
Obama sought to dispel the notion that Republicans could fulfill their campaign promises to gut the Affordable Care Act immediately without risking devastating consequences for consumers. Calling that approach "irresponsible," Obama urged Republicans to do the work now to develop an alternative. "Given that Republicans have yet to craft a replacement plan, and that unforeseen events might overtake their planned agenda, there might never be a second vote on a plan to replace the ACA if it is repealed," Obama wrote. "And if a second vote does not happen, tens of millions of Americans will be harmed." (Lederman and Lucey, 1/6)
The New York Times:
Democrats Appeal For Compromise: Alter, But Don’t Gut, The Health Law
With Republican leaders pressing to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, possibly within weeks, moderate Senate Democrats reached out on Thursday to Republicans, appealing for them to slow down the repeal efforts and let lawmakers try to find acceptable, bipartisan changes to make the existing law work better. Democrats also had new reason to hope for possible Republican defections after Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin said that the repeal measure would cut off federal funds for Planned Parenthood. But for now, Republican leaders are holding firm. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, denounced the law, President Obama’s signature domestic achievement, as “a lesson to future generations about how not to legislate.” (Kaplan and Pear, 1/5)