Congressional Republicans gathered in Philadelphia this week for the annual GOP retreat privately shared deep concerns about the potential political damage of botching the Affordable Care Act’s repeal, according to recordings of closed sessions obtained by the Washington Post.
GOP lawmakers quoted in the recordings worried over their ability to carry out a simultaneous “repeal and replace” strategy, preserve expanded Medicaid rolls and avoid disrupting or ending coverage for millions of Americans. Though party members have called for dismantling the legislation for the past seven years, lingering policy disagreements have prevented them from proposing a replacement.
“We’d better be sure that we’re prepared to live with the market we’ve created” through repeal, Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) said, according to the Post. “That’s going to be called Trumpcare. Republicans will own that lock, stock and barrel, and we’ll be judged in the election less than two years away.”
TPM’s Tierney Sneed reported that one lawmaker at the retreat chastised her for using the word “Obamacare” to refer to the healthcare law, telling her that the preferred term was “Affordable Care Act.”
These concerns and unanswered questions are being floated even as the Trump administration took steps towards repealing the law. On Thursday, The White House canceled millions in previously purchased advertising and outreach scheduled for the final enrollment days for 2017 health coverage under the law. That order was dialed back slightly on Friday, allowing some phone and digital outreach to occur, though $4 million of the $5 million in purchased ads were still canceled.
