This Times article notes that DC Republicans – particularly House Republicans – are coalescing around a “repeal and delay” strategy to repeal Obamacare. It is important to state clearly what this means.
It is a recognition that Republicans still have no plan to replace Obamacare with anything. The real plan is simply to go back to how things were before 2010. But that has become at least optically impossible since many key provisions are very popular – a ban on denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions, kids up to 26 on parents plans, 20 million people with new coverage. But as the Times notes, they feel the need to repeal it now to fulfill their campaign promise. Repealing it now without any clear plan or roadmap for replace it will produce chaos in insurance markets. They do not appear to have a plan to deal with that other than to blame Democrats for it if they come up with a plan before November 2018 and Democrats don’t help them pass it. I remain skeptical of how this all works in the Senate.
