As of January 12th, the United States Senate voted to approve the budget blueprint for the repeal of the Affordable Healthcare Act, commonly known as Obamacare. The vote took place with a simple majority of 51-48. Republican leaders are now arguing that the Obamacare bridge is collapsing and that they are now sending the rescue team. They are also arguing that they are building a whole new bridge by their approach. However, Henry Farrell wrote a piece for the Washington Post blog Monkey Cage arguing something different.
Farrell, on the premise of game theory, argues that instead of building bridges, the Republican leaders are burning the old bridges first. The assumption is that they will keep Obamacare until they find a replacement. However, last night's vote allows for a different approach. It allows for the opposition to have no motive in fighting the Republican leaders because a policy needs to immediately be in place to replace Obamacare. This is because numerous people would lose health insurance due to the repeal. A fight by the opposition [Democratic leaders] if Obamacare does not exist would prolong the time the number of their constituents who would not have healthcare insurance. Therefore, suggesting that they will burn the old bridge in order to force a new one to be built. The Republican leaders, simply put, are twisting the hands of Democratic leaders into signing a health insurance policy that they put on the floor. Farrell argues the dangerous risks involved with the use of this method. If the replacement, that Republican leaders propose is even less effective than Obamacare was; it could be catastrophic to the entire health insurance realm.
Taking into account the number of problems that the current approach by Republican leaders could result in. I will make a claim stating that the proper way to approach the health care issue in America would be to discuss the policy that would replace Obamacare first. Once they have an overall better policy than the current one, repealing Obamacare could finally take place. Repealing allows you to create a situation where a policy could end up being rushed and forced onto the Congressional floor. When discussing policy, a policy needs to be well rounded. Part of this idea is timing. When a policy is rushed, which it will be if they repeal Obamacare without a replacement, the result will be disastrous to the American public. This is due to the fact that there is minimal time to consider the short and long-term repercussions each part of the policy will have on society. In conclusion, Congressional leaders need to do more in order to repeal Obamacare or the American people may end up in a situation far worse than the current one.
