WASHINGTON — The Republican health care agenda was dominated for years by the all-consuming goal of repealing former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act but that singular focus seems to have faded.
“For once, repeal-and-replace isn’t the defining backbone of Republican health policy in Congress,” said Jennifer Young, a co-founder and partner at Tarplin, Downs and Young, a strategic consulting and policy development firm. “It took us years, but I think we have learned that repeal-and-replace was not a winning issue.”
Young, who worked in senior Health and Human Services positions during the George W. Bush administration, spoke during a post-election webinar hosted by the Kaiser Family Foundation focused on the direction of health care policy in the new Congress.
