Senate to Repeal Obamacare

Repealing Obamacare will be the first order of business in the US Senate in January, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, said on Tuesday. Republicans will replace President Barack Obama’s signature health insurance program that provides coverage to millions of Americans “step by step”, said Senator John Thune, another member of the Republican leadership. Senator John Barrasso said it might be effective in two or three years and that the timeframe was still being debated, Reuters reported. Democrats scoffed at the Republican plans, saying they do not even know what they want to replace Obamacare with. “Bring it on,” said Senator Chuck Schumer, who will be the Democrats’ leader in the Senate next year. Donald Trump’s election as the US president last month means Republicans will control the White House, Senate and House of Representatives in 2017. The new Congress opens on January 3 and Trump will be sworn in on January 20. The Affordable Care Act has provided 25 million previously uninsured Americans with health coverage by expanding Medicaid and through online exchanges where consumers can receive income-based subsidies. Republicans have launched repeated legal and legislative efforts to dismantle the law, which they call a government overreach.