Obamacare Repeal Bill: More Than Mere Symbolism

The American Spectator reports:

Unfortunately, the Senate bill doesn’t repeal Obamacare in its entirety. Because the Republicans had to use the reconciliation process to prevent a Democrat filibuster, it necessarily focuses on provisions that directly affect the federal budget. According to the Heritage Foundation’s Daily Signal, the measure would eliminate $1.5 trillion in spending and $1.2 trillion in taxes. It gets rid of the individual mandate, the employer mandate, exchange subsidies, the risk corridor (a gimmick to redistribute profits among insurers), the Cadillac tax, and Medicaid expansion. It also cuts Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood.

That still leaves a lot undone, of course. The bill would leave the Medicaid expansion and exchange subsidies in place for two more years. It also leaves Obamacare’s regulatory morass untouched, does nothing about the Independent Payment Advisory Board (a.k.a. the Death Panel), and ignores the law’s Medicare cuts. Also, because the Senate bill is much more aggressive than the repeal bill passed by the House in October, it will have to go back to the lower chamber for a vote. There is little doubt, however, that it will pass. The next stop will be the President’s desk, and he won’t be able to vote “present.”

It appears ObamaCare isn't getting anymore popular.