2017 Affordable Care Act replacement proposals
The following is a list of plans which were considered to replace the Affordable Care Act (commonly referred to as the ACA or Obamacare) during the Donald Trump administration. The plans were considered after the Republican Party gained a federal government trifecta in 2016. "Repeal and replace" has been a Republican slogan since March 2010 when the ACA was signed into law and had been adopted by former President Donald Trump. Background President Donald Trump and many Republicans have vowed to repeal and replace Obamacare; President Trump signed an executive order on January 20, 2017, his first day in office, that according to White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer would "ease the burden of Obamacare as we transition from repeal and replace". Spicer would not elaborate further when asked for more details. On January 12, 2017, the Senate voted 51 to 48 to pass an FY2017 budget resolution, S.Con.Res. 3, that contained language allowing the repeal of the Affordable Care Act through the budget reconciliation process, which disallows a filibuster in the Senate. In spite of efforts during the vote-a-rama (a proceeding in which each amendment was considered and voted upon for about 10 minutes each until all 160 were completed) that continued into the early hours of the morning, Democrats could not prevent "the GOP from following through on its repeal plans." Plans Several media outlets have reported widespread opposition in Congress and the American public against repealing the Affordable Care Act without replacing it. Barack Obama has stated that "The Republicans will own the problems with the health care system if they choose to repeal something that is providing health insurance to a lot of people". Early proposals The proposed CARE Act reverts many of the benefits of the Affordable Care Act. Senator Rand Paul has said he plans to introduce a replacement plan during the week of January 9, 2017. One key provision in his coming plan is to offer cheaper, less robust insurance plans for people. Senators Susan Collins (Maine) and Bill Cassidy (La.) introduced their plan, the Patient Freedom Act of 2017, on January 23, 2017, which would offer states the option to retain the Affordable Care Act, if they chose, or receive a block grant to be used on an alternative plan they prefer. House legislation American Health Care Act A comprehensive plan to replace the Affordable Care Act was announced by the House Republican leadership on March 6, 2017. It retains many features of the Affordable Care Act, but replaces ACT's system of subsidies with tax credits and federally-funded Medicaid coverage with a system of block grants to states based on the nature and number of recipients served. Conservative critics such as Rand Paul characterized the plan as "Obamacare Light" and continued to advocate total repeal, while other Republicans such as Cory Gardner from states which had accepted Medicaid expansion expressed worry about whether the new plan would adequately fund services for Medicaid patients. The United States House Committee on Ways and Means