By David Weigel, The Washington Post
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., the co-sponsor of legislation that would replace most of the Affordable Care Act by allowing states to keep portions of it, hears “repeal” differently than some Republicans.
In a scrum with reporters this week, Cassidy argued that “Obamacare” was not really a synonym for the ACA. For many voters, he said, “Obamacare” meant the parts of the law that Republicans would get rid of, and the ACA was the provisions, like continued coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, that Republicans intended to keep.
“The Affordable Care Act is, if you will, a different animal, and Obamacare is a different subset of it,” Cassidy said. “Complete repeal is not what President Trump ran on. President Trump ran on everyone having coverage, caring for those with pre-existing conditions without mandates, at a lower cost.”
While conservative outside groups and a conservative bloc of the GOP have demanded a full repeal of the ACA, some Republicans are already reframing “repeal” as a strategic attack, which would leave part of the law in place.
That’s a climb-down from what many Republicans campaigned on, a promise to rip out the ACA “root and branch.” But it’s in sync with the muddled voter opinion about repeal. According to a February poll conducted by Morning Consult, 35 percent of voters still do not realize that the Affordable Care Act and Obamacare are the same thing.
“Most of us would prefer to have a full repeal, but the fact of the matter is you can’t have a full repeal when you’re using the reconciliation process,” said Rep. David Rouzer, R-N.C. “That’s the exchange. If you want to have the 51-vote threshold, you can’t repeal everything.”
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