国际英语资讯:News Analysis: Obamas legacy in trouble as Trump seeks to repeal Obamacare_时事

国际英语资讯:News Analysis: Obamas legacy in trouble as Trump seeks to repeal Obamacare

WASHINGTON, May 8 -- The legacy of former U.S. President Barack Obama is in trouble as his successor Donald Trump seeks to repeal and replace Obama's landmark legislation - the controversial healthcare overhaul known as Obamacare.

Trump earlier this week pushed his replacement legislation for Obamacare through the House of Representatives, and the new bill is going next to the Senate for a vote.

The Republican Party (GOP) has blasted Obamacare for years, calling for it to be repealed and replaced for myriad reasons, including high cost of deductibles it has caused, the de-facto tax levied on those who do not purchase health insurance, and severe limits on choice of healthcare plans the law has created in the market.

Supporters of the law countered that it has enabled around 24 million Americans to purchase healthcare insurance, who previously did not have it. And many people like the stipulation that now, under Obamacare, no health insurance company may refuse coverage to someone who is already sick.

If Trump's healthcare plan passes the Senate and Trump signs it into law, the move would take away Obama' s major achievement during eight years in office.

"Obama's legacy is in trouble because Republicans are seeking to repeal everything he did," Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies of the Brookings Institution, told Xinhua.

"In the healthcare area, the repeal effort has weakened the protection of people with pre-existing medical issues and could leave 24 million Americans who currently have health insurance without coverage," West said, referring to the Obamacare stipulation that insurance companies are not allowed to refuse coverage to anyone with pre-existing medical conditions.