The Allure of 'Repeal and Delay' for Obamacare's Critics
Would Obamacare die a slow death if Tom Price were in charge?
Photographer: Alex Wong/Getty ImagesRight after Donald Trump was elected, I pointed out that it was going to be a wee bit harder to repeal and replace Obamacare than Republican politicians had promised on the stump. Since most didn't really expect Trump to win, conservatives are only belatedly grappling with that reality. The tone among Obamacare’s opposition immediately after the election was “Nananana, nananana, heeeeeyyy, goodbye!” Now they seem to be nervously eyeing each other and saying “Hey, guys, um, anyone got an idea about how we actually do this?”
The idea of the moment is “repeal and delay”: pass a repeal bill now, but delay its implementation for three years to give Republicans some time to come up with a replacement bill.