Fox host suggests it might be “safest” to repeal Obamacare without a replacement plan

Experts say repealing the ACA without a replacement would cause “turmoil for millions” and “severe disruptions” in health care markets

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt claimed it might be “safest” for congressional Republicans to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) immediately and worry about a replacement plan down the line, an option which was suggested by President Donald Trump two weeks ago. This plan, however, would cause “severe disruptions” for health care markets, meaning “turmoil for millions of people,” according to The Atlantic. ThinkProgress also noted that repealing the law without a replacement plan could “set off a death spiral and cause Americans to lose their insurance.” Even experts from the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think-tank, said, “The most likely end result of ‘repeal and delay’ would be less secure insurance for many Americans, procrastination by political leaders who will delay taking any proactive steps as long as possible, and ultimately no discernible movement toward a real marketplace for either insurance or medical services.” From the July 13 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends:

STEVE DOOCY (CO-HOST): Here's the problem right now. Keep in mind there are 10 Republican senators who have said no. Right now, they're not even to the point, they don't have the votes to proceed at this point. So a little later on this morning, [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch [McConnell] is going to unveil the latest version of it. The highlights of it -- people who are critics of it say, "Look, you've got -- you've still got a lot of the regulations from Obamacare. You've got the taxes from Obamacare. You've got the insurance subsidies of Obamacare. Everything people have voted over the last number of years to get rid of still baked into the new bill. So that's why a lot of people feel there's  a real good possibility this thing is not going to pass.

BRIAN KILMEADE (CO-HOST): Well, a guy like Ted Cruz has an amendment. They're really looking at what Ted Cruz is putting forward. It's not perfect for a conservative like him. But he understands a center-right plan is better than Obama's plan, which Republicans view is wrong. But Rand Paul, who's joining us in an hour and 15 minutes, says, “Right now I'm a no. The Senate bill does not repeal Obamacare, not even close.” However, you can't purely take out Obamacare and put a new one in because you don't have 60 Republicans. They had 60 Democrats and got them all, right? They had to bribe them, do everything --

DOOCY: Well, we had [Rep.] Mo Brooks [(R-AL)] on yesterday. He said why don't they just use the nuclear option, all they need is 50 votes. Just repeal it and then have a grace period of a couple years and come up with something.

KILMEADE: That would be a disaster.

DOOCY: Well that's what -- that's what people voted for.

AINSLEY EARHARDT (CO-HOST): That might be the safest way to do it though. Because if they haven't come to a compromise yet on what's best for the constituents of their state, that may be the best way to do it. Because they risk -- there's a lot of pressure on the Republicans, not only on Mitch McConnell to get this thing passed, but also to make sure it's right.