The centerpiece issue of the 2012 elections will be the Affordable Care Act ? also known as Obamacare ? everywhere except maybe here in Connecticut, where the issue will have only a minor impact.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled the health care reform law is constitutional. Now, the only way to block full implementation is if Congress repeals it, and that has become the rallying cry of opponents.
But here?s the problem, at least in Connecticut.
Since Republicans took control of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010, at least 30 efforts have been made to repeal or de-fund all or portions of the health care law. It?s my understanding that nearly every one of those efforts was successful ? in the House of Representatives that is.
Not once did any of those attempts succeed in the Senate.
So, replacing all five Democratic Connecticut House members with Republicans pledged to vote for repeal doesn?t change anything. Any repeal effort ? another will be made again next week in the House ? will continue to win approval in the lower chamber until Democrats regain control.
In fact, if every incumbent Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives was ousted in November, that still wouldn?t change anything.
To repeal the health care law, Republicans need to maintain control of the House, take control of the U.S. Senate and then win the presidency as well.
So, the only contest in which the repeal of the Affordable Care Act has any significance is the U.S. Senate race, and for Republicans Christopher Shays and Linda McMahon, that is not a very attractive proposition.
They?ll have to convince voters who are now receiving some of the benefits under the law that taking those benefits away is really a good thing.
I?m not sure how successful they?ll be in convincing a senior citizen that restoring the ?doughnut hole? and increasing their out-of-pocket costs for prescriptions is going to fly.
Or convincing a family they have nothing to worry about if their health insurance coverage for a sick child is canceled because the insurance company has determined the illness was pre-existing.
Or better yet, how do you convince voters who receive a refund from the insurance companies in August that maybe they should consider giving that money back because repealing the law is better?
Ray Hackett is The Bulletin?s editorial page editor. He has more than 20 years of experience covering Connecticut politics. He can be reached at (860) 425-4225 or rhackett@ norwichbulletin.com.
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