Since its passage in March 2010, Obamacare (the program that became Barack Obama’s presidential legacy) has been the target of Republican politicians’ disdain. However, the Republicans are unable to repeal it.
In spite of having a Republican-controlled House and Senate throughout Donald Trump’s first two years in office (and majority conservative votes to repeal the federal law), the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has largely remained untouched.
The Affordable Care Act withstood its third big legal challenge in the last few years; the Supreme Court dismissed the latest attempt by 18 Republican-led states to repeal it.
It's a great day to sign up for Obamacare. https://t.co/3Ll40AaneO
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 18, 2021
This is the Third Time the Bill Has Been Upheld
Justice Samuel Alito, in a contrary view, referred to the 7-2 decision to uphold the legislation as an epic care act trilogy.
After the individual mandate was repealed in 2017 – eliminating any penalty imposed on people who refused to pay for health insurance – Republicans tried to argue that the ACA was no longer constitutional.
The result was made after state governments failed to establish they were harmed by an inadequate requirement, according to the High Court.
According to a 2021 poll, the ACA has witnessed a surge in favor, but its favor has radically varied over the last few years
"And then they failed to repeal Obamacare AGAIN!" pic.twitter.com/LEvYxMlJLW
— MeidasTouch.com (@MeidasTouch) June 17, 2021
Its Popularity Has Sharply Declined
A Kaiser Family Foundation monitoring survey issued in May indicated that 53% of respondents favor the Affordable Care Act, while 35% oppose; this is a considerable increase from its April 2010 approval rating of 46%.
By 2011, popularity for the healthcare bill had dwindled, with half of all Americans stating they “negatively” regarded the legislation. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the first round of arguments presented by 26 states and the National Federation of Independent Business in November 2011.
Given the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act, Republicans face a difficult path to repeal the law. Democrats hope to expand it further. https://t.co/TLzelysJBW
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) June 18, 2021
The remarks were the GOP’s first attempt to challenge the personal mandate’s legality. In June 2012, the Supreme Court maintained the Affordable Care Act, including the individual mandate. In March 2015, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments again, this time questioning how subsidies might be dispersed under US Treasury regulations.
In a 6-3 decision in June 2015, the Supreme Court affirmed the Affordable Care Act’s subsidy structure; they held that payments could be supplied through a government agency, if a state did not break up its own exchanges.
The ACA is here to stay.
Pass it on. https://t.co/xCb41o8Vrl
— Obamacare (@Obamacare) June 17, 2021
Republicans enacted the Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act in late 2015; this repealed major provisions of the Affordable Care Act. However, on January 8, 2016, Obama vetoed the bill.
Throughout Obama’s presidency, popularity for the Affordable Care Act dwindled, with the number of Republicans disapproving of the federal law even by the day Donald Trump took office. In 2016, the Republican base ran on a platform of “repealing and replacing” the national health system.
After this campaign, Mike Pence, the then-Vice President-elect, stated that once in office, President-elect Donald Trump would immediately focus on rolling back President Barack Obama’s historic healthcare bill.
The GOP, however, never was able to do away with or replace the ACA after Obama left office.
