CNN —
House Speaker Mike Johnson told a group of supporters Monday night that Republicans will seek “massive reform” of the Affordable Care Act if Donald Trump is re-elected, setting out next year’s Republican legislative plan. The main parts have been predicted.
While campaigning in Pennsylvania, the Republican Party chairman said that if Republicans regained control of the White House, an overhaul of the 14-year-old health care law would be “very aggressive” on the agenda for the first 100 days, according to a video. A look at the event obtained by CNN, which has vowed to be a part of. Johnson was speaking at a Republican campaign event at President Trump’s volunteer headquarters in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
At one point, an attendee asked Johnson directly, “Is Obamacare bad?” The speaker, wearing a signature Trump and Vance jacket, responded, “No to Obamacare.”
Johnson’s comments on the landmark 2010 health care law known as Obamacare, a longtime Republican punching bag, came as both parties were making closing arguments to voters. . And that’s especially noteworthy after Republicans’ high-profile failure to repeal key parts of the health care law during President Trump’s first term.
“Health reform is going to be a big part of the agenda,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said at the event. Three will visit key swing seats in eastern Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley as Johnson seeks to help Republican challenger Ryan McKenzie unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Susan Wilde. It was the second time.
Republican leaders tried to dismantle Obamacare when they took full control of Washington in 2017, but then-Sen. John McCain opposed the Republican effort because the party had no substantive plan to replace the law. Since then, Republicans have shifted their focus away from health care policy, especially as they eye major tax reform early next year.
But Mr Johnson made it clear this week that Republicans were not giving up on targeting the law.
“The ACA is very deeply entrenched. It requires major reform to make it work, and we’ve got a lot of ideas about how to make that happen,” Johnson said.
The speaker did not discuss details of the Republican legislative plan, but noted that a group of Republican doctors in the House, known as the Republican Physicians Association, is drafting ideas for possible legislation.
And health care is not the only area undergoing a major “free market” overhaul, he said.
“We need this across the board, and Trump is going to be big. I mean, he only has one term left, right?” Johnson said.
The once-controversial health care law is not a major theme of the 2024 election campaign. Part of that is due to the popularity of some provisions, including protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
There are also political realities. While the Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the bill, Republicans in Congress have done little more than chip away at the corners of the law.
Mr. Trump himself has adopted a different tactic from previous campaigns, emphasizing to voters that he has no intention of repealing the health care law.
In a video posted to Truth Social in April, President Trump said he was “not running toward ending the ACA,” as Democrats have claimed.
Instead he said: “We’re going to make it better and stronger.”
Still, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris warned in a recent health care ad that Americans risk losing Obamacare protections if Trump wins.
Johnson’s remarks were first reported by NBC News.
