Politics

GROUNDHOG DAY: WH Says NOW They Will Repeal Obamacare

(Photo by Steve Pope/Getty Images)

Alex Pfeiffer White House Correspondent
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Vice President Mike Pence is saying “this is the moment” that Obamacare will get repealed after previous failures.

The Graham-Cassidy bill, named for sponsors Sens. Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy, would repeal the Obamacare individual and employer mandates and the health care law’s subsidies and Medicaid expansion subsidies. The bill effectively replaces the funding mechanism of Obamacare with a system of block grants. It would also keep the law’s provision that allows people to stay on their parents’ insurance until 26 years old. (RELATED: 12 Ways Cassidy-Graham Affects Obamacare)

“This is the moment. Now is the time,” Pence said Tuesday aboard Air Force Two about the bill. President Trump campaigned on repealing-and-replacing Obamacare as did Congressional Republicans. The GOP has so far failed to deliver on this promise with three previous efforts failing.

The last failed attempt was the so-called “skinny repeal,” which Republican Arizona Sen. John McCain killed with his “no” vote.

Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson told MSNBC Tuesday that he is “cautiously optimistic” the bill will get the necessary support.