Hillary Clinton Reacts To GOP Health Care Bill Failure: ‘Today Was A Victory’
On Friday, former Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton reacted on Twitter to the failure of House Republicans to repeal the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) and replace it with the White House-backed American Health Care Act (AHCA). Clinton hailed the failure of the GOP health care bill as a “victory” for millions of Americans who would have lost their health insurance had the AHCA been passed.
But she warned that “the fight isn’t over yet” and that Americans would still need to fight against future efforts by the Republicans to force “bad ideas” on citizens.
The American Heath Care Act (AHCA) bill, pushed by the House leadership, including the House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), and the Trump administration, was scheduled for a vote on Friday. But House Republican leaders decided to withdraw the bill from a vote after they confirmed that they did not have enough votes to pass it.
According to the New York Times, Ryan had to rush to the White House to tell Trump he did not have the votes to repeal Obamacare and pass the new bill.
Reacting to the failure of the AHCA bill to pass, Donald Trump insisted that the bill was “good” but that people simply did not realize just “how good” it was.
“A lot of people don’t realize how good our bill was because they were viewing phase one,” Trump said. “But when you add phase two — which was mostly the signings of Secretary Price, who’s behind me — and you add phase three, which I think we would have gotten — it became a great bill.”
“Premiums would have gone down and it would have been very stable, it would have been very strong.”
Trump argued that the best way to get rid of the ACA after Republicans failed to vote on the AHCA was to let it “explode” on its own.
“I’ve been saying for the last year and a half that the best thing we can do politically speaking is let Obamacare explode,” he said. “It is exploding right now. Many states have big problems — almost all states have big problems.”
Shortly after the failure of of the new bill, Clinton also reacted on Twitter. She posted a statement to Twitter, describing the failure of House Republicans to repeal the ACA and pass the AHCA as a “victory for all Americans.”
Today was a victory for all Americans. pic.twitter.com/LX6lzQXtBR
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 24, 2017
“Today was a victory for the 24,000,000 people at risk of losing their health insurance, for seniors, for families battling the quiet epidemic of addiction, for new moms, and women everywhere. Most of all, it’s a victory for anyone who believes affordable health care is a human right,” Clinton wrote.
She praised constituents for fighting against the proposed replacement legislation.
“We cannot forget: This victory happened because people in every corner of our country committed their time and energy to calling their representatives, showing up at town hall meetings, and making their voices heard,” Clinton’s Twitter statement said.
“The fight isn’t over yet – we will have to push back on future bad ideas and embrace good ones to make health care more affordable — but we are reminded today that there is no substitute for standing up and defending our values.”
The former secretary of state followed with statement with a series of tweets about people she met on the campaign trail in 2016 and who had benefited from the ACA.
But this fight isn't over yet and we can't forget who it's about. Here are some stories…
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 24, 2017
Natarsha, whose breast cancer was caught early because of a screening at Planned Parenthood, which Republicans would defund. pic.twitter.com/oTXMjrw8Tv
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 24, 2017
Luisa, who suffered from bone cancer and needed care ASAP – but the hospital wouldn't admit her without proof of insurance.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 24, 2017
Keith, who brings his mother with Alzheimer's to work with him because he can’t afford care for her during the day. pic.twitter.com/HD9GyX9E9D
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 24, 2017
Angelina, a young woman with autism who is already worrying who will take care of her when her parents are gone. pic.twitter.com/LwLQ8VcCsK
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 24, 2017
Pam, who is raising her grandson because his parents are struggling with opioid addiction – a silent epidemic in so many communities. pic.twitter.com/PhfjzMTF1j
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 24, 2017
Ryan, who was born with a disability and with the support of his family and world-class health care has had a lifetime of opportunities. pic.twitter.com/aHB9xvWU34
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 24, 2017
Let’s not be distracted. Let’s continue to stand up, organize, resist, put forth good ideas to improve the existing system & peoples' lives.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 24, 2017
But speaking about the bill after its failure, Ryan insisted that it was a superior alternative to Obamacare (ACA).
“I’m really proud of the bill that we produced,” he said. “It would make a dramatic improvement in our health care system and provide relief to people hurting under Obamacare. And what’s probably most troubling is the worst is yet to come with Obamacare.”
[Featured Image by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]