Health-care nightmare continues for the GOP

It is revealing that Republi- can President Donald Trump, who ran on the promise of repealing and replacing Obamacare, and the GOP majority in Congress have failed to come up with an alternative plan that would pass muster with the American people.

Indeed, the takeover in January of the U.S. House of Representatives by Democrats is the direct result of voters saying they do not trust Republicans to do the right things when it comes to affordable health-care coverage.

The fact is that millions of Americans who previously played Russian roulette with their health now have peace of mind because of the Affordable Care Act. The ACA was Democratic President Barack Obama’s major legislative accomplishment. The measure made it through Congress with Democratic votes only, thus becoming a key campaign issue for Republicans.

GOP candidates for the Senate and House successfully portrayed Obamacare as socialized medicine and fear-mongered the issue by warning that scores of people would die because of not being able to choose their own doctors and not having easy access to medical care.

But as the November general election battle for control of the U.S. House showed, GOP fear-mongering has not worked.

Democrats used a Texas lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the ACA as a political hammer. The strategy paid off.

According to the Associated Press, health care was the top issue for about one-fourth of the voters last month, ahead of immigration and jobs and the economy. The survey was conducted by VoteCast for the AP.

But here’s the finding that should cause Republicans to reassess their opposition to the ACA: Voters most concerned with health care supported Democrats overwhelmingly.

Judge’s ruling

It is, therefore, not surprising that the national and state Democratic parties and prominent Democratic lawmakers wasted little time last week in condemning a federal judge’s ruling that the Obama health-care law is unconstitutional.

And it is also not surprising that many Republicans chose to hide in the weeds.

While it is true that the decision by Republican-appointed U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor in Texas has little immediate practical impact, it does affect the political narrative as the new Congress prepares to convene next month.

“This decision threatens the health coverage of 20 million people and undermines pre-existing condition protections for all Americans,” said Ohio’s senior U.S. senator, Democrat Sherrod Brown. “We cannot go back to the days when insurance companies regularly denied coverage for people who are sick. We will fight back.”

Brown, who is mulling a run for president in 2020, has been one of the most vocal advocates in Congress for affordable health-care coverage for all.

By contrast, President Trump, who has had numerous meetings in the White House with members ofCongress to a forge an alternative to Obamacare, hailed Judge O’Connor’s ruling.

“As I predicted all along, Obamacare has been struck down as an unconstitutional disaster!” the president tweeted. “Now Congress must pass a strong law that provides great healthcare and protects pre-existing conditions.”

But that’s easier said than done. For one thing, Congress is unlikely to act while the numerous lawsuits remain in the courts. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to ultimately rule on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.

If Obamacare is overturned, the president and Congress will have to come up with a replacement because the American people are not prepared to give up key provisions in the current law.

Coverage for pre-existing conditions, expansion of the Medicaid program to include low-income workers, requiring employers to cover young and adult children of workers and providing Medicare recipients with discounted prescription drugs are popular with Americans across the political spectrum.

Finally, a coalition of Democratic state officials led by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra intends to appeal Judge O’Connor’s decision.

For Republicans, who found out last month they’re on the wrong side of this issue, the nightmare continues.