GOP Just Needs 'A Little Time' on ACA Replacement

More than 2,200 days after the President signed the Affordable Care Act – and after 63 House GOP votes to repeal or undermine the law – House Republicans are telling us, yet again, that they just need "a little time" to come up with their fantasy ACA alternative.   From The Hill:

 GOP group promises ObamaCare replacement plan — soon

A group of senior House Republicans is promising to deliver proof that the party is making headway in its six-year struggle to replace ObamaCare.

"Give us a little time, another month or so," House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) told reporters this week. "I think we'll be pretty close to a Republican alternative."

…For now, the group is still in "listening mode," Upton said. When asked who they are listening to, Upton said: "You name it – the world."

Coming up with a plan to replace ObamaCare has been an aim for the Republican Party for so long that it's become a laugh line even in conservative circles. Despite voting more than 50 times in the House to repeal the law, the GOP has not once voted on legislation to take its place.

Even now, the healthcare reform task force is not expected to produce an actual bill to replace the law, Ryan's office said Friday.

…Long-time GOP lawmakers and policy experts say they are highly skeptical about the party's ability to produce a full-blown plan before July…When first asked about the House's prospects of replacing the law on Friday, Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) pretended to hide his face in a bannister in the Capitol building to avoid the question…

A focus on replacing ObamaCare could also help distract from Ryan's other major policy problem – the GOP's budget.

House leaders blew past a deadline on Friday to approve their spending blueprint for 2017. During an interview on that missed deadline this week, Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), a member of the budget and appropriations committees, took several other House committees to task for shirking their duties to replace the healthcare law.

"I don't know how many times I've voted against ObamaCare…"

Months ago, Speaker Ryan told the American people to "just wait" for the mythical House Republican ACA alternative.  And while we were waiting, the Affordable Care Act achieved yet another historic milestone: 20 million previously uninsured Americans have new health coverage thanks to this landmark law.  It's long past time House Republicans came back to reality and woke up to the truth of ACA's success.