“Repeal and replace Obamacare” has been the conservative rallying cry since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law in 2010. 

Democrats in Washington, D.C., have been losing Congressional seats in elections off of this “promise” alone. Republicans in Congress have consistently cited the chaotic rollout of the healthcare.gov website, increasing premium costs and former President Barack Obama’s controversial promise of “if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor” as grounds for a top-to-bottom reversal of the ACA on day one of Donald Trump’s presidency. 

It should come as no surprise however, that two weeks into his administration, a full scale dismemberment of this complex law that has provided insurance for 20 million more Americans is going to be much more difficult than the three word campaign promise used in his rallies made it seem.

So far, the current Congress appears to have no coherent plan for how to replace the current healthcare system without kicking the 20 million newly insured citizens off of their coverage. High premium costs are a legitimate grievance for many Americans and should be met with bipartisan action to combat the problem.  But if the fantasy of an Obamacare repeal truly went into effect and we returned to insurance companies not covering preexisting conditions and young adults not being covered under their parents plans until they are 26, would we not be returning to the same disastrous system that ranked 35th in the world before the ACA? 

Trump himself has said that he supports keeping the “good parts” of Obamacare, while improving on the rest. Perhaps the reason for the inability of Congress, specifically the Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, to begin crafting a replacement plan is due to Trump’s vow to “provide care for everybody.” Trump as we know by now is no conventional Republican and has strayed away from their typical market based healthcare solutions in favor of government intervention, putting him at odds with mainstream conservatives.

As young college student’s health insurance may seem like an issue we will never have to worry about. But as we leave school and enter into the real world our insurance plans will be at the forefront of our career and financial decisions.