“Today, after more than 50 votes in Congress to repeal or weaken this law, after a presidential election based in part on preserving or repealing this law, after multiple challenges to this law before the Supreme Court, the Affordable Care Act is here to say,” President Obama said on Thursday after the Supreme Court upheld the state subsidies provision in the Affordable Care Act. In other words, time for Republicans to give up the fight against the health law.
But appearing on CBS’s “Face the Nation” Sunday, Rep. Paul Ryan seemed unfazed.
Ryan said the current law is not fixable, and, citing the rationing of Medicare, denial of choice, double-digit annual increases in premiums, and the consolidation of insurance companies, he argued that the country won’t stand for it.
“This law’s going to collapse under its own weight,” he said. “I am as motivated as ever before to repeal and replace this law, and that’s what we’re working on.”
Ryan told host John Dickerson that, despite media reports to the contrary, the GOP has plenty of ideas for legitimate replacements to the law, something that he plans to move forward on in 2017 if a Republican is elected president.
“There are a number of alternative ObamaCare bills out there right now, in Congress. So I just disagree with that notion,” said Paul, who was the GOP vice presidential nominee in 2012.
“In 2016, we need to show the country what exactly we would replace this law with, so that when we win the election in 2016, we will have the ability to do it in 2017,” he continued, encouraging GOP presidential candidates to talk at length about what they want to do to replace ObamaCare with a system that works better.
As of early June, support for the law stood at a mere 39 percent, which ties an all-time low, last hit in April of 2012.
