Republicans won’t support a simple fix to Obamacare should the Supreme Court strike its subsidies, Rep. Paul Ryan said Sunday.
“We’re not going to do that,” Ryan, R-Wis., told Fox News’ Chris Wallace. “I think everyone knows we’re not going to do that.”
The looming question of how Republicans will respond if the court upholds the King v. Burwell challenge, rendering illegal the federal subsidies that make health insurance affordable for some 7 million Americans, remained unanswered by Ryan.
Ryan insisted his party won’t agree to keep the subsidies flowing without also making other big changes to the law — likely making it a non-starter for President Obama, who doesn’t want to dismantle his signature legislative achievement.
Obama and the Democrats are set to pressure Republicans to vote to change the few lines in the Affordable Care Act that are needed to maintain the subsidies for Americans around the country.
“They’re going to hold up a one page piece of paper and say it’s my way or the highway,” Ryan said.
Ryan’s been working with other lawmakers on a GOP response should the court uphold King, and that plan likely includes repealing the law’s individual and employer mandates. At first the Republicans’ intention was to release a plan before the ruling, but Ryan confirmed Sunday it won’t come out ahead of the ruling.
“We want to see what the ruling is specifically so we can customize our plan to the actual ruling,” Ryan said.
And he expressed a hope that has evaded his party for years — that by eventually controlling the White House and Congress, Republicans will be able to repeal the healthcare law they deeply dislike.
“Can we replace this law completely in the next presidency and the next Congress?” Ryan said. “That is our goal and the answer is yes, we can.”
