The failure to pass the American Health Care Act (AHCA) in the House of Representatives last week was the result of an ill-advised legislative strategy.
Shortly after the election in November, the incoming Trump administration and the Republican leadership in Congress decided on an approach that was risky, and proved to be fatally flawed. They wanted to move rapidly, before opposition could coalesce, to pass a repeal-only bill using budget reconciliation so that Republicans could muscle it through the Senate without needing any Democratic votes. After passing repeal, with a delay of two or three years for terminating key provisions of the ACA, the plan was then for Congress to take its time to bring forward a replacement plan, perhaps broken up into several different bills addressing different features of the health system.
