EDITORIAL: Now let’s fix the ACA

March 25--The American Health Care Act is dead.

The AHCA failed for many reasons, but its deep unpopularity didn't help matters. The Congressional Budget Office declared it would actually kick more Americans off their plans than simply repealing Obamacare without a replacement.

In the end, this embarrassing defeat was handed to House Speaker Paul Ryan by the members of his own party. President Donald Trump used every stick and carrot at his disposal this past week to no avail. The vote, originally scheduled for Thursday on the seventh anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, was pushed back to Friday. It was finally pulled just before the votes were tallied because it would have failed.

Republicans had the better part of a decade to prepare for this day and they fell flat on their faces. There's really no other way to spin it. This hurt.

"I don't know what else to say other than Obamacare's the law of the land. It's gonna remain the law of the land until it's replaced. We did not have quite the votes to replace this law," Ryan said during a Friday press conference.

Ouch.

Now the real work begins. No one on any side of the health care debate thinks Obamacare is perfect; far from it. It was a major improvement from the state of affairs it replaced, but it still needs much work.

In the aftermath of the AHCA's failure, Trump reportedly said he's ready to let Obamacare fail and then come back to the negotiating table. This is a non-starter. Millions of people's very lives are on the lines. Members of both parties should work together to fix the law we have now. Democrats, who are in the minority in both houses of Congress, have a rare opportunity to work with President Trump on a plan closer to something they could get on board with.

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