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As Republicans lawmakers frantically attempt to piece together a passable health bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, the American people continue to declare that they overwhelmingly prefer the current law to its Republican alternatives.
According to a new Fox News poll, only 27 percent of the American public views the Senate’s health care bill favorably — with a mere 11 percent strongly approving of it — confirming a growing trend of unpopularity for the Better Care Reconciliation Act.
Meanwhile, the Affordable Care Act, which Republicans are so adamant about repealing, is increasing in popularity, with a 52 percent approval rating. Ever since Republicans ramped up their efforts to repeal Obamacare, the ACA has become more popular than before.
Over the past months, former President Barack Obama’s signature health care legislation has consistently registered higher approval ratings from the American public than President Donald Trump, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Only 36 percent of Americans approve of the way Trump has handled the health care debate, the same Fox News poll found.
In a way, it’s no surprise: The Republican-led government has been mired in Trump’s scandals and legislative stalemates. On health care, the Republican alternatives to Obamacare have consisted of two bills that would cost more than 20 million people their health insurance, according to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office.
It’s a bad sign for Republican lawmakers, many of whom have spent the past seven years campaigning on repealing Obamacare but have struggled to find a proposal that could a) pass Congress and b) be welcomed by the American public.
The Senate bill in its current form doesn’t have enough support among Senate Republicans to pass Congress’s upper chamber. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has proposed some changes that could possibly thread the needle between warring factions of the party, but they still include massive cuts to Medicaid, which have proven to play unfavorably with the American public.
The Democrats are watching closely; with hopes to regain control of the House of Representatives in 2018, congressional candidates have already begun framing their attacks around the growing health care fight.
