--- title: AHCA: The House Voted to Repeal Obamacare More Than 50 Times description: Republican leaders in the House of Representatives canceled a vote on a Republican replacement for the Affordable Care Act. canonical: https://time.com/4712725/ahca-house-repeal-votes-obamacare/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-24T19:59:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T08:25:59.237Z article:section: Politics og:title: Reminder: The House Voted to Repeal Obamacare More Than 50 Times og:description: But they pulled a vote on Friday when it looked like it couldn't pass. og:url: https://time.com/4712725/ahca-house-repeal-votes-obamacare/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc60e3e803ac75d5f/6988bfb0cd1bbaae247046e2/women-underrepresented-business-political-leadership-roles.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5019 og:image:height: 2823 og:image:alt: United States Capitol Building, Washington DC, USA og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Reminder: The House Voted to Repeal Obamacare More Than 50 Times twitter:description: But they pulled a vote on Friday when it looked like it couldn't pass. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc60e3e803ac75d5f/6988bfb0cd1bbaae247046e2/women-underrepresented-business-political-leadership-roles.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Reminder: The House Voted to Repeal Obamacare More Than 50 Times > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=cdf9b1b6-8049-41f8-8802-ba27e932507a&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: 10 Days That Define the Obama Presidency: The Affordable Care Act [Watch (HLS stream): 10 Days That Define the Obama Presidency: The Affordable Care Act](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/S8hGNLNB.m3u8) (2:35)  _Published 2017-01-12. As President Obama's two terms in office come to a close, TIME is taking a look back at the most pivotal moments of his presidency._  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Mar 24, 2017 7:59 PM UTC As President Obama's two terms in office come to a close, TIME is taking a look back at the most pivotal moments of his presidency.  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Mar 24, 2017 7:59 PM UTC After [a contentious debate](http://time.com/4712345/ahca-healthcare-polls-unpopular/?xid=homepage) Friday, Republican leaders in the House of Representatives canceled a vote on a Republican replacement for the Affordable Care Act. That came after the House voted to repeal or amend the Affordable Care Act more than 50 times [since it was passed](http://fortune.com/2017/03/24/ahca-obamacare-vote/) in October 2009. According to [a Washington _Post_ analysis](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2014/03/21/the-house-has-voted-54-times-in-four-years-on-obamacare-heres-the-full-list/?utm%5Fterm=.3324710f7040), by March 2014 they had already voted on it 54 times, including measures to undo, update to change it. Republicans took control of the House in 2011, and on January 19 of that year they voted on, and passed, a measure to repeal all of the Affordable Care Act. (It was never considered by the Senate). Other measures weren’t as far-reaching, as in March 2014 when the House passed an act meant to ensure that volunteer firefighters aren’t counted as employees under the ACA’s shared responsibility provisions. But Friday was supposed to be the date of the most serious effort to repeal and replace the law, since Republicans control the House, the Senate and the White House. But Speaker Paul Ryan decided to pull the bill after House Republicans [didn’t coalesce](http://time.com/4712026/ahca-house-freedom-caucus-health-care-repeal/?xid=homepage) behind the plan and the measure looked [doomed to fail](http://time.com/4712627/ahca-republicans-fall-short-votes/). “This is our moment,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer [said Friday](http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/24/watch-white-houses-sean-spicer-holds-daily-press-briefing-as-health-care-vote-draws-near.html), outlining the stakes of this vote. “This is our opportunity to do it, but it is now up to members to make that decision whether or not they want to be part of this effort to repeal Obamacare.” ## Transcript Today after almost a century of try, today after over a year of debate, today after all the votes have been tallied health insurance perform become law in the United States of America. Where the central Promises of Obama's 2008 campaign was to, in a way, complete the American social safety net, specifically for American's who were working, were not necessarily poor, but who could not afford health insurance and therefore didn't have regular medical care. This is something that most other Western nations Provide their citizens with, what the US hasn't historically. And he did this with a massive bill that did that and many other things. Since in the 1960s when medicare and medicate past which basically guaranteed healthcare for the poor and for the elderly, it has been a priority of democratic leaders going back decades To try and extend that to working people. And so when Obama came on the scene, he was really promising to complete this generation long democratic project. He was able to do it because the win in 2008 had been so grand. It had been such a big win. So for a time, we have a filibuster proof majority In the Senate. He had large majorities in the house. Most americans didn't really understand all the parts of Obamacare. It was a very complicated bill. But they had strong feelings. And those feelings tended to follow their political leanings. They were conservative Republican. They were concerned. It looked like government expansion overreach. They were liberal and fans of the president They embraced it. [ UNKNOWN ] For years, the American people have been calling on Washington, to build a bridge away from Obamacare. The story of republican opposition to Obamacare, isn't about Obamacare. It's about the way Republicans decided to oppose President Barack Obama from the very beginning. They lost the ability in some way to shape the legislation to make it more palatable. But they decided that political opposition made permanent campaign was more beneficial that [ UNKNOWN ]. And the biggest strangers, the most visible ones are the ones that are almost certain to stay but even president- elect Donald Trump wants to keep around are we a very popular visitations around children and the young girls staying at their parents house [ UNKNOWN ]. And they'd be getting rid of pre- existing conditions. That was a tremendous change and really just, a dramatic rethinking of a way insurance has been carried out in this country. 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