With The AHCA Out, What Will Happen To Obamacare?

After what can only be described as a laborious effort to pass the American Health Care Act of 2017, otherwise known as "Trumpcare," failure to secure enough votes resulted in House Republicans withdrawing the very bill that would repeal and replace Obamacare Friday afternoon. As a result, many Americans are asking themselves, "Can you keep Obamacare?" For the foreseeable future, and according to Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, it looks as though your health care coverage will remain in tact.

According to CNBC, the "embattled bill seeking to replace major parts of Obamacare was yanked Friday from the floor of the House after it became clear that the measure would be defeated, in large part because of opposition from a relative handful of Republicans." Shortly following the breaking news, Ryan held a press conference discussing the future of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) and what voters and, in large, the American public can expect in the future. "We’re going to be living with Obamacare for the foreseeable future," Ryan said, looking nothing short of disheveled and, well, at somewhat of a loss. Prior to those comments, Ryan said:

We came really close today, but we came up close. I spoke to the president, just a little while ago, and I told him that the best thing I think to do is to pull this bill and he agreed with this decision. I will not sugar coat this, this is a disappointing day for us. Doing big things is hard, for all of us. All of us. Myself included. We will need time to reflect on how we go to this moment, and what we could have done to do it better.

Given Ryan's initial press conference following the defeat of the AHCA, it's safe to say that the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, will remain the "law of the land" and the reported 24 million people who were in danger of losing their health insurance if the ACA was repealed and replaced, will continue to be covered.

President Donald Trump also made a statement following the "pull out" of the bill he had worked tirelessly to pass on the hill over the last few days, saying he would, "Let Obamacare explode, and it's exploding right now," so apparently the new plan of this current administration and the backing of the GOP, is to leave the current health care plan stay, as is, and "see what happens."

Regardless, for now, it appears as though the Affordable Care Act will remain the "law of the land."