#SaveACA Trends as Senate Republicans Dismantle Affordable Care Act

By Kenrya Rankin Jan 12, 2017

#SaveACA Trends as Senate Republicans Dismantle Affordable Care Act

At about 1:30 a.m. ET today (January 12), the U.S. Senate began taking apart the Affordable Care Act (ACA, often referred to as “Obamacare”). Via a 51-48 vote, senators approved a budget resolution that will make it possible to repeal large portions of the healthcare program that is responsible for adding an estimated 20 million+ Americans to health insurance rolls since the first provisions rolled out in 2010. As a budget vote, it only required a simple majority for passage and effectively shut out all possibility of a Democrat-led filibuster. The resolution is set to go to the House this week, with a vote expected by tomorrow (January 13).

NPR reports that if the budget reconciliation measure passes in the House and is signed by Donald Trump after he takes office on January 20, it won’t repeal the entire law. But as ObamacareFacts.com reports, it would kill many provisions that are directly impacted by government spending and taxation, including the mandate that everyone be insured, the expansion of Medicaid and the subsidies that help make coverage more affordable.

Democrats used the late night session as an opportunity to force their colleagues to vote their support (or lack thereof) for many of the individual elements of the ACA. They will use those recorded responses as a map to the plan Republicans might propose to replace it. The body voted that it would not support a provision that keeps young people on their parent’s insurance until age 26, and made it clear that it will not support one that protects coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.

Per an October WalletHub report, in 2015, the Black uninsured rate was 10.97 percent. It was 19.51 for Latinxs and 6.29 percent for White Americans. Overall, the uninsured rate has dropped 6.02 percent nationwide since 2010, but that trend is expected to be reversed if the ACA is repealed.

The vote spurred citizens, politicians and organizations to post on social media in support of the ACA, making #SaveACA a trending topic:

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Affordable Care ActArchiveBudget ReconciliationHealthHouse of RepresentativesPoliticsSenateSenate Republicans