On July 11th, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to repeal President Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The vote, which will undoubtedly fail in the U.S. Senate, is seen as
a symbolic effort on the part of the Republican Party to say, “The Supreme Court may have upheld it, but it’s still a bad law.”
The vote largely followed party lines, with 244 members voting for the repeal, and 185 members voting against the repeal. All Republicans voted in favor of repeal, joined by five Democrats.
This effort will meet with certain defeat in the Senate, as Democrats currently comprise a majority. To date, there have been two other House votes to repeal the entirety of the law, and 32 efforts to repeal or defund various portions of the law. All of these votes have not survived the Senate,
The vote will serve to keep health care in the public arena in preparation for the upcoming elections. Republicans hope to use the vote to highlight Democratic support for PPACA, which is still unpopular with a majority of the American public. On the other hand, Democrats will likely condemn the vote as being futile and overshadowing the more pressing issue of spurring growth in a still-weak economy.
Certainly, the vote is demonstrative of an effort on behalf of the Republican Party to repeal the Act. House Speaker John Boehner said, “This law continues to make our economy worse and there’s even more resolve to see that it is fully repealed. We’re giving our colleagues in the Senate another chance to heed the will of the American people. And for those who did not support repeal the last time, it’s a chance for our colleagues to reconsider.”
A poll recently released by ABC News and the Washington Post shows that Americans are evenly divided in their support or opposition for the law.
Clearly the debate over PPACA still looms large and many questions remain even after the recent Supreme Court decision upholding the majority of the Act. The debate will surely continue until the November elections.
As always, BenefitMall pledges to keep you up-to-date on these issues and more. Stay tuned to www.benefitmall.com and www.HealthcareExchange.com.
The views expressed in this Legislative Alert do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position, or opinions of BenefitMall. This update is provided for informational purposes. Please consult with a licensed accountant or attorney regarding any legal and tax matters discussed herein.
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Dems are willing to take
Dems are willing to take anynhitg at all if it is called health reform' without reading it for themselves. Republicans and independents aren't.The government has no Constituitonal power to force 300 million people to enrich insurance companies and big Pharma by being required to purchase sucky policies they would never have chosen for themselves. And medicare being cut $500 billion just as those who paid in all their lives get up to the point of needing the expensive care shows precisely why government should not be trusted with our health care.The question is, why on earth do Dems who know what is in the bill want it to be passed?And most PEOPLE I know don't care about government run option' in the scheme of things. Once government has designed the sucky policy and limited our choices to what we can get, and shielded the committee deciding what is cost effective' enough to be given out as health care, and drastically raised the premiums, it is little matter who administers the sucky policy.Who protects us from our government? At least now we can sue insurers.
July 2, 2012: Kaiser Poll:
July 2, 2012: Kaiser Poll: Early Reaction to Supreme Court Decision on ACA
Following last week's Supreme Court's decision upholding the heart of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a majority of Americans (56 percent) now say they would like to see the law's detractors stop their efforts to block its implementation and move on to other national problems. In the first of two polls to be released this month looking at opinion on the ACA in the wake of the Court's decision, Democrats overwhelmingly say opponents should move on to other issues (82 percent), as do half (51 percent) of independents. But on the flip side, seven in ten Republicans (69 percent) would like to see efforts to stop the law continue. Solid majorities of voters of every political stripe say the decision won't impact whether or not they vote this November – though Republicans are more likely than Democrats (31 percent compared to 18 percent) to say the result will motivate them to turn out in November.
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