Passing Large Bill May Dismantle Obamacare, Gut Inflation Act
TL/DR –
Republicans are negotiating a large budget bill that could negatively impact the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and the Inflation Reduction Act. The bill includes large cuts to federal safety net programs including Medicaid, with experts and Senate Democrats warning that these changes would effectively repeal Obamacare. The bill also targets clean energy tax credits that were part of the Inflation Reduction Act, potentially rolling back key elements of the Biden administration’s climate change efforts.
The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” Threatens Democratic Legislations
The current Senate-negotiated Republican budget bill could severely undermine two notable Democratic legislative victories: Obamacare and the Inflation Reduction Act.
The impact of this bill is underplayed by both parties. However, it’s clear that it would destabilize the key policies of the Obama and Biden administrations.
House Republicans have included substantial cuts to federal safety net programs, such as Medicaid, in the reconciliation package passed in May. The reductions aim at the Medicaid expansion population, a group that gained health care coverage eligibility under the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion.
Republicans are framing these far-reaching cuts as a strategy to eliminate supposed “waste, fraud, and abuse.” However, these measures seem to be a clandestine attempt to repeal Obamacare, a longstanding GOP target. The current effort is less overt than previous attempts, such as the failed Obamacare repeal bid during the Trump administration in 2017.
Despite not explicitly labeling their actions as an Obamacare repeal, experts and Senate Democrats caution that the proposed Medicaid cuts in the reconciliation bill may indeed result in Obamacare’s dismantling, drastically impacting those reliant on the program.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), a ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, said in a recent statement, “Republicans are effectively dismantling the Affordable Care Act. Americans do not want to revert to the days when health care was reserved for only the healthy and wealthy.”
The budget bill also targets another significant Democratic achievement – the clean energy tax credits from the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act. The rollback of these programs will deny healthcare to 16 million Americans and exacerbate environmental pollution, according to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) emphasized the repercussions of repealing Obamacare and rescinding the clean energy tax credits in the IRA on his state, predicting 300,000 Virginians would lose health care.
Nonprofit organization Fair Share America is working to educate the public on the potential impacts of the reconciliation bill. The organization warns that the cost of living will rise due to increased medical and energy bills if the bill becomes law.
“The American public understands that this bill puts 15 million Americans’ health care at risk. They are angry, scared, and do not want this bill to proceed,” Executive Director of Fair Share America Kristen Crowell told TPM. The cuts to clean energy tax credits are also facing strong opposition on the ground, particularly from Trump voters who have benefited from the incentives in the IRA.
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