Opponents of the Affordable Care Act took their first step to repeal the health care law without a replacement proposal. This is as bad as when Indiana Jones tried to steal the Golden Idol by replacing it with a bag of sand, and the consequences could be just as scary.
The Senate vote was 51 to 48 in favor of a fiscal 2017 budget resolution that sets up the repeal process, which is expected to take several weeks.
If congressional Republicans repeal the ACA, also known as Obamacare, but don’t replace it with a viable alternative, 30 million people are in line to lose their health coverage.
Senators who understand that the lives of millions of people depend on continuing health coverage were dismayed at the recklessness of their colleagues. One Obamacare supporter after another gave their reasons for voting against the resolution, even though no debate was allowed on the floor: Because there’s no replacement plan; because a yes vote would amount to stealing health care from the American people; because health care shouldn’t be just for the healthy and the wealthy; and so on.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said it was a matter of life or death, since “up to 30 million Americans will lose their health care, with many thousands dying as a result. Because you have no health care and you can’t go to a doctor or a hospital, you die.”
The millions of Americans who rely on ACA for their health care could provide millions more reasons against repealing the law. What are yours?