The Republican Party pulled their healthcare bill from the House floor on Friday, March 24.
Efforts to replace the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, fell short after the bill didn’t garner any votes from the Democratic Party and received little support from the Republican Party.
The Republican bill included limits on spending for Medicaid, drawbacks on coverage for birth control and funding for Planned Parenthood, increase in funding for community health centers and the elimination of subsidies from Obamacare.
The bill kept in tact some measures from Obamacare, including allowing kids under the age of 26 to remain on their parents’ insurance and protection for Americans with pre-existing conditions.
The bill created a noticeable divide in the Republican Party; it did not garner the votes of conservatives who wanted to see more components of Obamacare erased.
It also did not get support from the more neutral Republicans, who were afraid that the bill would leave 24 million more Americans without insurance by 2024.
“We came up short,” said House Speaker Paul Ryan. “We’re going to be living with Obamacare for the foreseeable future.”
President Donald Trump gave some remarks from the Oval Office, where he mentioned that Obamacare is “exploding” and attributed the lack of Democrat support to why the bill failed.
“If the Democrats, when it [Obamacare] explodes, which it will soon, if they got together with us and got a real healthcare bill, I’d be totally open to it,” said Trump on Friday. “And they have Obamacare for a little while longer, until it ceases to exist.”
Many leaders in the Democratic Party were satisfied with the pulling of the bill.
“Today is a great day for our country, what happened on the floor is a victory for the American people,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. “Let’s just for a moment breathe a sigh of relief for the American people.”
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont also celebrated the victory, with many remarks on Twitter from Sanders and his camp.
“The defeat of the disastrous TrumpRyan heath care bill is a major victory for working families and everyone who stood up in opposition,” said Sanders.
Many Democrats were seemingly rubbing in the victory.
“Hey Republicans, don’t worry, that burn is covered under the Affordable Care Act,” tweeted Bob Menendez, a Democratic senator from New Jersey.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released a statement on Twitter celebrating the withdrawal of the GOP healthcare bill.
“Today was a victory for the 24,000,000 people at risk of losing their health insurance,” Clinton remarked. “Most of all, it’s a victory for anyone who believes affordable health care is a human right.”
“He never tried to reach out to Democrats in any way,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. “So the blame falls with President Trump and the Republicans.”
In the coming months, Trump mentioned his willingness to work with the Democrats in creating a “real” health care bill. The Republican Party plans to move on for now and start working on tax reform.
Sunny Morgan is a second-year student majoring in communication studies with a minor in journalism. She can be reached at SM848270@wcupa.edu. Her Twitter is @SunnyMorgan97.