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---
title: Senate Health Care Bill: How &#x27;The Office&#x27; Explains It
description: A TV critic thinks the fight over the Senate health care bill sounds familiar: Specifically, an old episode of &quot;The Office.&quot;
canonical: https://time.com/4838970/the-office-senate-healthcare-bill-trump/
author: Ashley Hoffman
article:opinion: false
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article:published_time: 2017-06-29T15:16:19.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:45:01.221Z
og:title: How an Episode of &#x27;The Office&#x27; Explains the Senate Health Care Bill
og:description: &quot;Michael, he made huge cuts&quot;
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og:image:height: 334
og:image:alt: The Office
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twitter:title: How an Episode of &#x27;The Office&#x27; Explains the Senate Health Care Bill
twitter:description: &quot;Michael, he made huge cuts&quot;
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![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt73da5562f3fc347c/6988cac02dce0101159ed338/michael-scott.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9)


# How an Old Episode of 'The Office' Explains the Senate Health Care Bill

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by 

[Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/)


## Ashley Hoffman


Jun 29, 2017 3:16 PM UTC

![The Office](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt73da5562f3fc347c/6988cac02dce0101159ed338/michael-scott.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

Steve Carell as Michael Scott

Steve Carell as Michael Scott Chris Haston/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

by 

[Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/)


## Ashley Hoffman


Jun 29, 2017 3:16 PM UTC

A TV critic thinks the [fight](http://time.com/4836700/senate-health-care-bill-poll-disapproval/) over the [Senate health care bill](http://time.com/4835301/senate-health-care-vote-delay-donald-trump-mitch-mcconnell/) sounds familiar: Specifically, an old episode of “The Office.”

In a tweet storm on Wednesday, friend of TIME (and former colleague) James Poniewozik, now with the New York _Times_, compared the current fight over repealing the Affordable Care Act to the [“Health Care”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health%5FCare%5F%28The%5FOffice%29) episode from the NBC sitcom’s first season. (He gave credit to a Politico writer who [had a similar idea](https://twitter.com/ddiamond/status/845109727898091522) months ago.)

In the episode, boss Michael Scott is charged with choosing a new health care plan, realizes that means he’ll have to cut employee benefits and decides to try to shift the blame.

Here’s how it played out.

> [](https://twitter.com/poniewozik/status/880248629642108928)

And his big ideas.

> [](https://twitter.com/poniewozik/status/880248825457377282)

Then the inevitable reality check.

> [](https://twitter.com/poniewozik/status/880249115900358656)


And the realization that leading can be tough stuff. Who knew?

> [](https://twitter.com/poniewozik/status/880249362936475654)

So why not delegate?

> [](https://twitter.com/poniewozik/status/880249557069770752)

The backlash.

> [](https://twitter.com/poniewozik/status/880249879204945921)


The cuts.

> [](https://twitter.com/poniewozik/status/880250169106862081)

The bottomless need for adoration.

> [](https://twitter.com/poniewozik/status/880250455376498688)

Another promise kept.

> [](https://twitter.com/poniewozik/status/880250677922078720)


But some people didn’t buy what he was selling.

> [](https://twitter.com/poniewozik/status/880250838614147073)

Suspense over.

> [](https://twitter.com/poniewozik/status/880251091522342912)

> [](https://twitter.com/poniewozik/status/880251433244909568)


Time for the receipts.

> [](https://twitter.com/poniewozik/status/880251630582726657)

This isn’t the first time people have drawn parallels from the White House to [_The Office_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x1eqZNyJjM).

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