Senate Republicans struggle to explain how AHCA would benefit consumers
Eight Republicans in the Senate were asked by Vox to explain what problems in the healthcare system the American Health Care Act (AHCA) is trying to solve and how it will be better than the Affordable Care Act—and while some could explain desired outcomes from the bill, identifying the exact policies to achieve those goals seemed to be difficult.
When asked what are the big problems the bill is trying to solve, Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, answered, “Almost all of them. They’re trying to get to 51 votes.” He then repeatedly pivoted back to concerns about getting enough Republicans to support the bill, rather than explaining how its policies would fix problems the party has with the ACA.
Several Republicans identified lowering insurance premiums as a top priority. When asked how the AHCA would achieve that goal, Sen. John Boozman, R-Arkansas, responded, “Well it makes it such that it’s more affordable. So that’s really what we’re working through now. We don’t have a bill yet; we’re working hard to come to an agreement so we can solve some of those problems.”
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John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.