So what will Republicans do now?
They’re trapped in a corner of their own making. GOP leaders say their position now is to “repeal and replace” the healthcare law. But more than four years after Obamacare became law, they still don’t have a consensus proposal for what that replacement would look like.
There are plenty of conservative ideas out there, of course. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has proposed a plan that would replace Obamacare with a $100-billion fund for state insurance plans to cover people with preexisting conditions. (It would also turn Medicare into a voucher program.) Three Republican senators have proposed a plan that would give low-income taxpayers a tax credit for health insurance costs and guarantee continued coverage for people with preexisting conditions.
But if 10 million people or more have gained health insurance thanks to Obama’s long-derided law, they’re going to want to see a fully fleshed-out replacement before they jump ship. The Republicans haven’t provided one, and that’s a prescription for irrelevance.
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