The Atlantic

Why the GOP Is Still Struggling With Health-Care Reform

The very parts of the Affordable Care Act that Republicans see as government overreach are the parts that make insurance more affordable for their base.
Source: Nathan Chute / Reuters

President Trump likely surprised many supporters when he told Bill O’Reilly in their Super Bowl interview that formulating a plan to replace the Affordable Care Act was “very complicated” and might not be finalized “until sometime into next year.”

That sounded very different than during the campaign, when Trump insisted he would quickly replace Obamacare with “something terrific.” Instead, Trump and congressional Republicans are discovering why health reform eluded every president until Barack Obama narrowly muscled through the ACA. The American medical system is an enormously complex mechanism deeply susceptible to the law of unintended

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Atlantic

The Atlantic8 min readAmerican Government
The Most Consequential Recent First Lady
This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here. The most consequential first lady of modern times was Melania Trump. I know, I know. We are supposed to believe it was Hillary Clinton, with her unbaked cookies
The Atlantic3 min readCrime & Violence
Donald Trump’s ‘Fraudulent Ways’ Cost Him $355 Million
A New York judge fined Donald Trump $355 million today, finding “overwhelming evidence” that he and his lieutenants at the Trump Organization made false statements “with the intent to defraud.” Justice Arthur Engoron’s ruling in the civil fraud case
The Atlantic7 min readAmerican Government
The Americans Who Need Chaos
This is Work in Progress, a newsletter about work, technology, and how to solve some of America’s biggest problems. Sign up here. Several years ago, the political scientist Michael Bang Petersen, who is based in Denmark, wanted to understand why peop

Related Books & Audiobooks