First of all - what's the rush? It took the ACA 6 months to pass - why are you trying to do this in a week?
I do understand the technical reasons for the three stages of repeal and replace because doing stage one as anything other than a budget reconciliation would trigger the need for 60 votes in the Senate, which the GOP doesn't have.
Stage 2 is having the Secretary of HHS using provisions of the ACA to reverse some or all of the regulations imposed by his predecessors.
This brings us to Stage 3, where the final pieces of the replacement plan are buried. Two problems: we still don't know exactly what will be in Stage 3 because they're still trying to negotiate Stage 1, and Stage 3 will be faced with that procedural issue avoided in Stages 1 and 2 - the need for 60 votes in the Senate, which the GOP does not have.
So in the end, we could end up with a partial replacement that will only hurt millions of Americans. The GOP is negotiating with its own party to get the votes it needs by cutting parts of the proposed bill - the CBO has reviewed the proposed changes and downgraded the deficit reduction it would provide while upping the number of Americans that will be negatively affected. This is looking to become a disaster of epic proportions, and will be wholly owned by the GOP - they did not reach across the aisle and ask for any input at all from the Dems, so the GOP owns this completely.
Doesn't it make more sense to scrap this, go back to the drawing board, and at least make an effort to make this a bipartisan health care act?
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