The House JUST Passed The Dangerous Obamacare Replacement Bill, But Only Barely

By Haley Henschel
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May 04, 2017

The House just barely passed the Republican bill that would gut the Affordable Care Act Thursday, sending it to the Senate, where it's expected to be considerably revised.

After spending the past seven years promising to repeal and replace Obamacare, Republicans narrowly secured the vote, which passed 217 to 213. All Democrats voted against the provision.

"This bill delivers the promises we have made to the American people," House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) told CNBC ahead of the vote.

While President Donald Trump considered the vote a huge victory for the GOP and celebrated with a press conference, the bill could be even more difficult to pass in the Senate.

An earlier version of the American Health Care Act (as it's being called) had been brought to vote in March, but a decision was postponed so that Republicans could try to secure more support.

Democrats have argued that this new version of the AHCA would be even more detrimental to Americans than the first — especially women.

For instance, the proposed MacArthur-Meadows Amendment would allow states to deny patients coverage on certain pre-existing conditions, including sexual assault, postpartum depression, being a survivor of domestic violence, and having undergone a C-section, as Mic noted.

States would also be allowed to waive health services requiring coverage of mental health, prescription drugs, and maternity care, per ABC News.

And according to an earlier analysis, about 24 million additional Americans would be uninsured by 2026 under the AHCA compared to Obamacare.

“Make no mistake — many people will die as a result of this bill,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Florida) told ABC after Thursday's vote.

Still, Republicans remain confident that they're doing the right thing — and that their plan will become law.

Said Rep. Diane Black (R-Tennessee), chair of the House Budget Committee: “Our constituents did not elect us to do what is easy. They elected us to do what is right."