GOP May Stall Obamacare Replacement for Years

Republican lawmakers are reportedly setting up a three-year deadline to replace the Affordable Care Act, to allow for organization and across-the-aisle participation after an early 2017 vote to repeal the health-care reform law. The delay would allow the GOP to regroup and pressure Senate Democrats, whose votes would likely be necessary to enact the changes. “We’re talking about a three-year transition now that we actually have a president who’s likely to sign the repeal into the law,” Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn told Politico. “People are being understandably cautious to make sure nobody’s dropped through the cracks.” The compromise is intended to appease conservative critics of Obamacare while not entirely upending the system and ripping health insurance from 20 million Americans—without at least offering an alternative. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy noted: “I think once it’s repealed, you will have hopefully fewer people playing politics and [instead] coming together to try to find the best policy.”