Meadows Leads Conservative Push To Repeal Obamacare ASAP, Establishment Wants Delay

There is no question that Republicans are united over the idea of repealing Obamacare.

Republicans from all wings of the party agree President Obama’s “landmark” legislation is a disaster and is hurting everyday Americans.

But where there does seem to be some contention and disagreement is the timing of the repeal.

The GOP establishment, led by Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Ohio) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), are hoping to repeal Obamacare, but install a delay on when the repeal will actually take place.

Their plan would delay the enactment Obamacare’s repeal until 2019 or beyond, supposedly in order to give the GOP-led Congress time to craft, pass, and implement a replacement for the health care law.

“I’d like to do it tomorrow, but reality is another matter sometimes,” Hatch, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, told The Washington Post. “We have to live with the real world, and the real world right now is that the Democrats won’t help with anything.”

The idea that the GOP would need this much time to craft, pass and implement an Obamacare replacement is hilariously frustrating, consider the fact that members of Congress have literally had years to have their house in order.

Of course, it is also typical, considering we are talking about the Republican establishment here.

Thankfully for the country, Congressman Mark Meadows has his stuff together.

Congressman Meadows already has a full plan crafted that would repeal Obamacare within the new Congress’ first 100 days, then allowing the GOP to pass and implement a replacement over a span of roughly 17 months – a far shorter time frame than the establishment plan. Or lack thereof.

“We need to have a very aggressive timeline on repeal,” Meadows, who recently took over as chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, told The Daily Signal. “What I would be hopeful for is a replacement that would come shortly after that, but to combine the two would be a mistake in that it would slow down the repeal process.”

Republicans do plan to use reconciliation — a procedure that allows a bill to pass the Senate with just 51 votes, as opposed to the 60 certain measures typically require — to repeal the Obamacare disaster, and are looking to pass a reconciliation bill during the first days of the 115th Congress.

Another plus for the GOP, which apparently only conservatives like Mark Meadows are taking into account, is the fact that they will finally have support for the repeal effort in the White House, as Donald Trump is set to takeover as Commander-In-Chief on January 20th.

Meadows is also working with at least two different insurance providers to ensure the companies have enough time to make the changes necessary.

“Adjusting in six months, that’s a herculean leap,” Meadows said. “Adjusting in a 17- to 18-month time frame is certainly something that all the insurance providers can do, and they’ve been asked to do much more in adjusting to the Affordable Care Act with less specificity coming from the Department of Health and Human Services.”

While the conservative Congressman is confident the contributions the insurance providers add to the case for Congress using his shorter timeline for repeal and replace, he’s also making the case to his colleagues in the House and Senate that leaving Obamacare in place for even a few years will harm consumers far too greatly.

“A gradual wind down will still create perverted markets with regards to health insurance,” Meadows said. “I don’t know of any argument that would suggest that a three- to five-year wind down will make it less onerous on the American people.”