Pence Claims GOP Again Looking To Repeal Obamacare, But Only If Midterms Go Well
Republicans’ stalled drive to repeal Obamacare could finally make it over the top if this fall’s midterm elections go the right way, according to Vice President Mike Pence.
Pence spoke about the GOP’s plans to address flaws in the signature plan of former President Barack Obama during a trip to Wisconsin where he was campaigning for Republican Senate candidate Leah Vukmir, The Hill reported.
“We made an effort to fully repeal and replace ObamaCare and we’ll continue, with Leah Vukmir in the Senate, we’ll continue to go back to that,” Pence said.
Although Republican candidates campaigned in 2016 on repealing Obamacare, not enough Republicans could coalesce behind any single approach, leading to the failure of any plan to clear Congress.
Pence said that despite the lack of action in Congress, the Trump administration has made good on President Donald Trump’s promise to dismantle as much of the health care plan as can be done administratively.
“The real answer is to allow people across Wisconsin and across America to have more choices to allow the marketplace to breathe. And so our administration is taking every step that we can through administration action and through regulatory policy to encourage innovation in health care to lower the cost of health care,” Pence said, according to Inquisitr.
Democrat strategist Jesse Ferguson posted a tweet in response, “VP Pence admits GOP’s hidden plan – win more Senate seats so they can pass health care repeal that raises costs and eliminates protections.”
🚨🚨🚨 VP Pence admits GOP's hidden plan – win more Senate seats so they can pass health care repeal that raises costs and eliminates protections—> https://t.co/C1J3IpItb6
— Jesse Ferguson (@JesseFFerguson) August 30, 2018
Pence’s comments put Vukmir in stark contrast to Wisconsin’s incumbent Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin.
As reported by the Washington Times, Baldwin said she was proposing legislation that would block the Trump administration’s effort to allow Americans to buy insurance coverage that did not conform to Obamacare’s rules.
“They are moving forward on an expansion of junk insurance plans that can deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions and don’t have to cover essential services like prescription drugs, emergency room visits and maternity care,” she said.
Vukmir’s campaign attacked the proposal.
Baldwin “arrogantly” thinks she “knows better than Wisconsinites about which health insurance plan they should buy, calling their decisions ‘junk,’” said Jess Ward, Vukmir’s campaign manager.
“Leah Vukmir will fight to give Americans more choices in health care because she believes the people know best, not the government,” he said.
GOP Wisconsin US Senate candidate Leah Vukmir: "I'm a firm believer in federalism and letting states handle their problems ….We had a great system before Obamacare went in place." https://t.co/AHzz2Vcool pic.twitter.com/IABiAdGxwh
— Tom Kertscher (@KertscherNews) July 29, 2018
Rates for insurance through Obamacare will continue to climb if Florida is an example of what is to come.
Earlier this week, Florida announced that rates on Obamacare plans will increase an average of 5 percent, with some plans having an increase as high as 10 percent, the Washington Examiner reported.
During his trip to Wisconsin, Pence was upbeat about the GOP’s chances in November despite the long-term trend that the first election after either party control the White House results in a setback for the party holding the presidency.
“It’s gonna be a red wave because of the results that President Trump and our administration have been delivering for the American people and the economy,” said Pence, according to WITI.
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