House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is confident Republicans will not be able to accomplish their goal of repealing and replacing Obamacare.
Pelosi, a strong advocate for keeping President Barack Obama’s landmark health-care legislation in place, said Republican lawmakers split on the timing of the repeal will likely hinder them from dismantling the bill.
“There’s division among the Republicans within their own ranks as to timing and substance,” she told reporters Tuesday. “I don’t think they’re going to repeal the Affordable Care Act.”
Repealing Obamacare was one of the major platforms President-elect Donald Trump ran on during the 2016 election — but GOP lawmakers are still in the process of figuring out the logistics on how to best navigate the process.
A number of Senate Republicans have called for a three-year window to put a replacement in place while House conservatives said it needs to happen during the 115th Congress.
Top Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan, have repeatedly noted Obamacare has been collapsing under its own weight, pointing out premiums have increased, insurers have pulled out of the market places and the majority of co-ops have failed.
GOP members said they plan to keep popular provisions, including allowing dependents under the age of 26 to stay on their parents’ plans and requiring insurers to cover preexisting conditions, in place, while eliminating the mandate.
Pelosi argued getting rid of the mandate while keeping the other language in place would lead to a spike in premiums.
“You can’t keep them,” she continued. “You can’t afford them, because the costs would be so astronomical.”
The Senate is expected to take up repealing Obamacare the first week of January, where they Republicans are expected to use the reconciliation process, allowing the upper chamber to pass budget-related bills with just a simple majority.
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