LOS ANGELES (Diya TV) — Monday, hundreds of nurses, patients and other healthcare workers are expected to turn out at a noon rally to protest the Republican effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Sen. Kamala Harris, the freshly minted California senator who is a Democrat, opposes the repeal. She is scheduled to appear with healthcare activists outside the Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center.
Organizers of the rally, which includes Service Employees International Union and other labor groups, have warned Republican lawmakers that repeal of the law without a replacement will strip coverage from 5 million Californians and throw the healthcare system into chaos. The protest is just one of several across the nation planned by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi in an effort to save the nation’s healthcare system.
However, President-elect Donald Trump said he expects Congress to act swiftly in dismantling the healthcare law, predicting last week that a “repeal and replace” will occur “simultaneously.” House Speaker Paul Ryan committed to having a repeal and replace of the law carried out in 2017.
House and Senate Republicans voted last week to take the first step toward repealing the law, approving a budget blueprint which sets a month-end timetable to draft a repeal bill. But leaders warned the entire process could take longer.
Ever since President Obama signed the act into law in 2010, Republicans have been unable to find common ground on a viable replacement. This was showcased in last week’s vote as nine Republicans, a mix of the most conservative and most moderate, declined to back the first step. In closed-door meetings over the past two weeks, Republicans have expressed much “hand-wringing,” as one lawmaker put it. One congressman quoted scripture in asking colleagues to ensure they had a sturdy foundation before pressing ahead with the repeal.
Information from the Los Angeles Times contributed to this report.
