| Medtech Issues in the 2012 Election Year |
Despite receiving sustained pressure from conservative groups to hold votes to repeal the healthcare reform law, a number of Senate Republicans are leery of bringing this to the floor this year, reports Healthwatch, The Hill's healthcare blog. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has resisted pushing for a repeal vote because the Senate Republican Conference is split on the issue. The reasons are varied, according to blogger Alexander Bolton.
"Repealing all of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act could give vulnerable Democrats political cover by allowing them to reverse their support for the law before the November election," writes Bolton. To which one reader commented, "The depth of Republican delusions about Obamacare is truly amazing. They won't vote on repeal because they think it would give Democrats a chance to vote against it, too? Good Lord!"
Other reasons advanced by Republican leaders to skip the vote this year include the negative effective it might have on Mitt Romney's campaign and the possibility that it could force Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) to make a difficult decision as he prepares to face off against Elizabeth Warren in the fall.
At this time, it appears unlikely that Andrew Roth, Vice President of government affairs at the Club for Growth, will get his wish of a "vote on repealing Obamacare every week."