Boehner: ObamaCare repeal and replace ‘not going to happen’
Former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Thursday that a full repeal and replacement of ObamaCare is “not going to happen.”
Instead, Boehner said at a healthcare conference in Florida that Republicans will end up making smaller changes to the law.
“[Congressional Republicans are] going to fix Obamacare — I shouldn’t call it repeal-and-replace, because it’s not going to happen,” Boehner said, according to Politico.
The comments are striking, coming from someone who led Republican opposition to ObamaCare for years.
“Most of the framework of the Affordable Care Act … that’s going to be there,” Boehner reportedly said at the conference, adding that “Republicans never ever agree on healthcare.”
Republicans are running into strong headwinds as they look to repeal and replace the law. Angry constituents are confronting lawmakers at town halls, worried about losing care, and Republicans are divided on key issues like what to do with ObamaCare’s expansion of Medicaid.
While Boehner led the fight against ObamaCare, he also sought to lay the issue to rest after President Obama won reelection in 2012, calling the Affordable Care Act “the law of the land.”
That remark sparked an outcry from conservatives, and Boehner quickly reaffirmed his commitment to repealing the law.
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