The U.S. Congress on Wednesday sent legislation to President Barack Obama repealing his signature health law. The move marks an election year victory for Republican voters who have tried to gut the law since 2010.
The bill dismantling of President Obama's signature health care law was approved in a final House vote of 240 - 181 on Wednesday afternoon. The legislation went straight to the White House after passed the Senate last year.
The Obama's signature health care, Affordable Care Act or also known as Obamacare, was designed to provide health care for millions of uninsured Americans. The program was approved by Democratic majority congress in 2010. The Republicans have been trying to remove the program since then.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said that the Congress is confronting the president with the hard, honest truth: Obamacare doesn't work, Reuters reported. Speaker Ryan, an R-Wis., said that Republicans intend to propose a replacement, but for it to become law, this is going to require a Republican president.
Democrates derided the vote Wednesday as pointless. According to ABC News, the vote will have the same ultimate outcome as the 61 previous repeal votes that were blocked in the Senate, since Obama will veto the legislation. The president is sure to veto, and Republicans do not have the votes to override.
On Tuesday night before the vote, Speaker Paul Ryan told Fox News that he fully anticipates the president will veto the legislation. Ryan said his next goal is to engineer and pass a bill to replace the Affordable Care Act, in response to Democrats' allegations that Republicans have no viable alternative.
Earlier this week, Hillary Clinton warned that the vote shows the high stakes at play in the 2016 presidential election. She accused Republicans of offering no alternative. She said that the Republicans just want to undo what Democrats have fought for decades and what President Obama got accomplished.
The bill repealing would strip the Obama health law's keys pillars, including requirements that most people obtain coverage and larger employers offer it to workers. It would also eliminate the expansion of Medicaid coverage to addittional lower-income people.
It would also remove the government's subsidies for those who buy policies on newly created insurance marketplaces and would end taxes the law imposed to cover it costs.
The bill dismantling would also strip the roughly $450 million annually of federal funding for Planned Parenthood, which has been a target of Republicans since last year.
