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The following is a list of efforts to repeal the
Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Pres ...
(commonly called the ACA or "Obamacare"), which had been enacted by the
111th United States Congress The 111th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government from January 3, 2009, until January 3, 2011. It began during the last weeks of the George W. Bush administration, with th ...
on March 23, 2010.


Background

A January 9, 2017
Congressional Research Service The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on a ...
report entitled "Legislative Actions to Repeal, Defund, or Delay the Affordable Care Act," noted that since ACA was passed in 2010, Congress has been deeply divided over the ACA. "Lawmakers opposed to specific provisions in the ACA or the entire law have repeatedly debated its implementation and considered bills to repeal, defund, delay, or otherwise amend the law." In October 2013, there was a "partial shutdown of government operations" that lasted over two weeks because of a disagreement between the "Democratic-controlled Senate and the Republican-led House" over the "inclusion of ACA language" in the FY2014 temporary spending bill.


112th Congress (2011–2012)

In 2011, after Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives, one of the first votes held was on a bill titled "Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act" (H.R. 2), which the House passed 245–189. All Republicans and 3 Democrats voted for repeal. House Democrats proposed an amendment that repeal not take effect until a majority of the Senators and Representatives had opted out of the
Federal Employees Health Benefits Program The Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program is a system of "managed competition" through which employee health benefits are provided to civilian government employees and annuitants of the United States government. The government cont ...
; Republicans voted down the measure. In the Senate, the bill was offered as an amendment to an unrelated bill, but was voted down. President Obama had stated that he would have vetoed the bill even if it had passed both chambers of Congress. Following the 2012 Supreme Court ruling upholding ACA as constitutional, Republicans held another vote to repeal the law on July 11; the House of Representatives voted with all 244 Republicans and 5 Democrats in favor of repeal, which marked the 33rd, partial or whole, repeal attempt.


113th Congress (2013–2014)

In January 2013, Republicans introduced An act to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
.


2013 federal government shutdown

Strong partisan disagreement in Congress prevented adjustments to the Act's provisions. However, at least one change, a proposed repeal of a tax on medical devices, has received bipartisan support. Some Congressional Republicans argued against improvements to the law on the grounds they would weaken the arguments for repeal. Republicans attempted to defund its implementation, and in October 2013, House Republicans refused to fund the federal government unless accompanied with a delay in ACA implementation, after the President unilaterally deferred the employer mandate by one year, which critics claimed he had no power to do. The House passed three versions of a bill funding the government while submitting various versions that would repeal or delay ACA, with the last version delaying enforcement of the individual mandate. The Democratic Senate leadership stated the Senate would only pass a "clean" funding bill without any restrictions on ACA. The
government shutdown A government shutdown occurs when the legislative branch does not pass key bills which fund or authorize the operations of the executive branch, resulting in the cessation of some or all operations of a government. Government shutdowns in the Un ...
began on October 1. Senate Republicans threatened to block appointments to relevant agencies, such as the Independent Payment Advisory Board and
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), is a federal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that administers the Medicare program and works in partnership with state governments to administer M ...
.


114th Congress (2015–2016)

On February 3, 2015, the House of Representatives added its 67th repeal vote to the record (239 to 186). This attempt also failed. The House passed the Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 on October 23, 2015 under the FY2016 budget reconciliation process, which prevents the possibility of a filibuster in the Senate. The bill would have partially repealed the provisions of the Affordable Care Act, notably the individual and employer mandates as well as the taxes on
Cadillac insurance plan Informally, a Cadillac plan is any unusually expensive health insurance plan, usually arising in discussions of medical-cost control measures in the United States. The term derives from the Cadillac automobile, which has represented American luxury ...
s. Some conservatives in both the House and Senate opposed the bill because it did not completely repeal the Affordable Care Act, which would have been inconsistent with the rules governing budget reconciliation bills. The bill was the 61st time that the House had voted to fully or partially repeal the Affordable Care Act. The bill also would have removed federal funding for Planned Parenthood for one year. The bill was expected to be vetoed by President Obama should it pass the Senate. In early December, the Senate passed an amended version of the healthcare reconciliation bill, sending it back to the House. It was passed by the House on January 6, 2016, and vetoed by President Obama on January 8, the sixth veto of his presidency. The House failed to override the President's veto on February on a vote of 241–186, which did not meet the required two-thirds supermajority. In January 2017, the
Congressional Budget Office The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the United States Congress, legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress. Ins ...
submitted its report on the estimated impact on insurance coverage and premiums with the repeal of ACA through H.R. 3762, the Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015. The report completed with input from the
Joint Committee on Taxation The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) is a Committee of the U.S. Congress established under the Internal Revenue Code at . Structure The Joint Committee is composed of ten Members: five from the Senate Finance Committee and five from the House W ...
estimated that 18 million more people would be uninsured in the first year after the repeal and by 2026, the number would rise to 32 million. For those who are not part of a group plan, premiums would increase by up to 25% in the first year, and by 2026 would double.


115th Congress (2017–2018)

On January 12, 2017, the Senate voted 51 to 48 to pass an FY2017
budget resolution The United States budget process is the framework used by Congress and the President of the United States to formulate and create the United States federal budget. The process was established by the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921, the Congress ...
, S.Con.Res. 3, that contained language allowing the repeal of the
Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Pres ...
through the budget reconciliation process, which disallows a
filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking out ...
in the Senate. In spite of efforts during the vote-a-rama (a proceeding in which each amendment was considered and voted upon for about 10 minutes each until all 160 were completed) that continued into the early hours of the morning, Democrats could not prevent "the GOP from following through on its repeal plans." On January 20, 2017,
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
was sworn in as
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...
. Trump and many Republicans have vowed to repeal and replace Obamacare.
President Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
signed an executive order on January 20, 2017, his first day in office, that according to then White House Press Secretary
Sean Spicer Sean Michael Spicer (born September 23, 1971) is a former American political aide who served as the 30th White House Press Secretary and as White House Communications Director under President Donald Trump in 2017. Spicer was communications dire ...
would "ease the burden of Obamacare as we transition from repeal and replace". Spicer would not elaborate further when asked for more details. On March 6, 2017, House Republicans announced their replacement for the ACA, the American Health Care Act. The bill was withdrawn on March 24, 2017 after it was certain that the House would fail to garner enough votes to pass it. The result was in-fighting within the Republican Party. On May 4, 2017, the United States House of Representatives voted to pass the American Health Care Act (and thereby repeal most of the Affordable Care Act) by a narrow margin of 217 to 213, sending the bill to the Senate for deliberation. The Senate indicated they would write their own version of the bill, instead of voting on the House version. On June 22, the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 was unveiled. On July 25, 2017, the
United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...
voted to proceed to debate on the American Health Care Act. The Senate voted 50–50, largely along party lines with the Republicans for and the Democrats against proceeding, requiring Vice President Pence to cast the tie-breaking vote. Republican Senators
Susan Collins Susan Margaret Collins (born December 7, 1952) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Maine. A member of the Republican Party, she has held her seat since 1997 and is Maine's longest-serving member of Con ...
of Maine and
Lisa Murkowski Lisa Ann Murkowski ( ; born May 22, 1957) is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator for Alaska, having held that seat since 2002. Murkowski is the second-most senior Republican woman in the Senate, after S ...
of Alaska crossed the aisle to vote against the motion. On July 27, 2017, the Health Care Freedom Act, also known as the skinny repeal, was introduced. This bill was defeated 49–51, with Republican senators
Susan Collins Susan Margaret Collins (born December 7, 1952) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Maine. A member of the Republican Party, she has held her seat since 1997 and is Maine's longest-serving member of Con ...
,
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...
, and
Lisa Murkowski Lisa Ann Murkowski ( ; born May 22, 1957) is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator for Alaska, having held that seat since 2002. Murkowski is the second-most senior Republican woman in the Senate, after S ...
voting against it along with all the Democrats and independents. On September 13, 2017, an amendment to the American Health Care Act, commonly known as Graham-Cassidy, was submitted. The bill was sponsored by
Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin Graham (born July 9, 1955) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A member of the Republican Party, Graham chaired the Senate Committee on ...
of South Carolina, with
Bill Cassidy William Morgan Cassidy (born September 28, 1957) is an American physician and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Louisiana, a seat he has held since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the Louisiana ...
of Louisiana as a co-sponsor. A spokesman for the Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and retired attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky and the Senate minority leader since 2021. Currently in his seventh term, McCon ...
said that a vote was planned to occur before September 30, which was the deadline to pass bills under budget reconciliation.
Rand Paul Randal Howard Paul (born January 7, 1963) is an American physician and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, U.S. senator from Kentucky since 2011. A member of the Republican Party (Un ...
and John McCain indicated that they would vote against the bill. Ultimately, McConnell announced on September 26 that the Senate would not vote on the Graham-Cassidy bill.


Vote total summary

Below is a summary of number of votes taken in the House of Representatives to repeal the Affordable Care Act either in full or in part through March 2014.
The Tuesday, February 2, 2016 vote, with a tally of 241–186, was the 63rd attempt by the House. After the July 27, 2017 vote on the Health Care Freedom Act, Newsweek "found at least 70 Republican-led attempts to repeal, modify or otherwise curb the Affordable Care Act since its inception as law on March 23, 2010."


See also

* Constitutional challenges to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act


References


Further reading

* {{cbignore, bot=medic Affordable Care Act 2017 in American politics United States federal health legislation