Health Care Moves to Senate

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Image+obtained+through+Google+Commons.

Image obtained through Google Commons.

After seven long years of unwavering determination, Republicans finally take action on their promise to repeal and replace Obamacare. On May 4th, 2017 Trump’s Health Care Act was passed in the House by a vote of 217:213.

Trump’s plan for his own Health Care Act (now under the name of Trumpcare) is to lower both premiums and deductibles. Though bringing these two down sounds nice, many Americans get burned by Trump’s new proposal.

Republicans desire a Health Care Act in which there is no mandated insurance coverage, meaning not as many people will be insured as they are now. Since Obama’s Health Care Act was signed into law March of 2010, more than 20 million Americans have gained insurance coverage.

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan argues, “we can continue with the status quo, or we can put this collapsing law behind us and end this failed experiment.” In general, Obamacare taxed the top 1% to pay for health coverage for the bottom 40%. Republicans’ desire to repeal the Act stems from their want to cut the taxes on that 1%, hurting just below half of Americans in the process.

Trumpcare is estimated to increase the average insurance premium by 15- 20% in the years of 2018 and 2019, but after that it is expected to be “lower than projected under current law.” While on the subject of the Republican vote in the House Trump comments, “They’re not even doing it for the party. They’re doing it for the country because we suffer with Obamacare.”

As a result of the vote, Trump’s Health Care Act is now on its way to the Senate. The odds of the Act passing, however, are not in Trump’s favor; with many already rejecting it before it has even arrived. Though it may not pass immediately, modifications might be made; extending the process. Chairman of the Senate Health Committee, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, explains, “to the extent that the House solves problems, we might borrow ideas.”

Due to the back-and-forth nature between the House and Senate, Trump’s Health Care Act may still have years to come before anything is passed as a law.