After a long, Godot-like wait, House Republicans finally unveiled legislation this week to replace Obama’s Affordable Care Act, and Stephen Colbert was ready to offer his diagnosis.
On Tuesday’s episode of The Late Show, Colbert joked that when GOP lawmakers introduced the bill, they immediately voted to repeal it “out of force of habit.”
He went on to note that the new bill keeps some popular elements of Obamacare, such as letting young adults stay on their parents’ health plans until age 26 and preventing insurance companies from denying coverage or charging more to people with pre-existing medical conditions. “Oh, there’s one other thing they’re keeping from Obamacare: Nobody likes it!”
On the one hand, Colbert said, “Conservatives are calling it Obamacare Lite. Great taste, less coverage.”
Meanwhile, Democrats are up in arms because the new bill might cover 20 million fewer Americans than its predecessor. “Pretty rough,” Colbert said. “Twenty million fewer than Obama — that sounds like Trump’s inauguration.”
The Late Show airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on CBS.
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