Vice President-elect Mike Pence visited with House GOP lawmakers on Wednesday morning to discuss President-elect Donald Trump’s first moves in the Oval Office, including a plan to repeal ObamaCare by Feb. 20.
The date was put forth by incoming House Budget Committee Chairman Diane Black (R-Tenn.). Pence announced during a press conference Wednesday morning that the Trump Administration’s first order of business will be to follow through on the important campaign promise of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare.
Through both executive action and legislation, Trump and GOP lawmakers aim to dismantle the healthcare law and replace it with a free-market based system. Pence offered scant details of what a replacement system would look like, however he ensured that any GOP sponsored fix would be less problematic for Americans than ObamaCare itself.
Pence noted that he and Trump are in “the promise-keeping business” on repealing the law, jabbing at President Barack Obama for the many empty promises surrounding his crowning achievement. Obama and Democratic lawmakers often shared the falsehood that Americans could keep their current doctors, healthcare plans and providers once ObamaCare went into effect, which turned out to be untrue.
Pence added that the American people spoke in November when they elected Trump, who made healthcare a focal point of his campaign. Pence said the election results show Americans want a “better future for healthcare in this country,” and alluded to a Department of Health and Human Services report that shows health care premiums for those enrolled in ObamaCare are expected to increase on average by 25 percent in the coming year.
