Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), the chair of the health committee, says his party may not offer up a legislative response if the Supreme Court guts Obamacare subsidies for millions of Americans.
“We want to be responsible about repairing any damage that Obamacare does,” Alexander said, according to a Politico article published Tuesday. “If it creates a shock to the system by causing 5 million Americans suddenly to put their insurance and their subsidies at risk, then we need to think if there’s anything we need to do. Maybe there’s not.”
His remarks reflect the difficulties that Republicans are having when it comes to devising a health care plan of their own, as TPM documented last week. They also indicate that GOP leaders may be changing their tune after insisting that they’ll respond if the Court rules against the Obama administration in King v. Burwell, slated for a decision by the end of June.
Some conservative members don’t want the party to act on a replacement at all. In the House, Reps. Steve King (R-IA) and Jeff Duncan (R-SC) introduced an amendment to the latest Obamacare repeal bill that strips out language calling for the party to craft an alternative.
