TIL Desk/World/Washington/ The US Senate has voted to start deliberations to repeal and replace Obamacare, a major step forward for President Donald Trump, who has been a strong critic of his predecessor’s signature healthcare bill.
The Republican-majority Senate voted by a slim 51-50 vote margin yesterday, with Vice President Mike Pence breaking the tie, to start deliberations on The American Health Care Act.
While the Trump administration still has a long way to go before it can achieve one of the toughest goal that it has set for itself in repealing and replacing Obamacare, the president, who had made scrapping the policy a key campaign pledge, said the Senate voting to start the debate is a “big step”.
Obamacare was signed into law by former President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. About 20 million Americans gained healthcare coverage under the healthcare programme, but Republicans viewed it as an overreach of the federal government and said patients had less choice and higher premiums.
Republicans say the new bill will lower premiums and deductibles and give consumers more control over their health care. But an array of opponents, including many consumer and patient advocacy groups, say this bill could leave millions facing higher healthcare bills and less coverage.
