> what is less commonly pointed out is that both are copies of something proposed by the insurance industry and embraced by the Republican Party as a desirable

> what is less commonly pointed out is that both are copies of something proposed by the insurance industry and embraced by the Republican Party as a desirable national reform direction shortly after Clinton's reform effort failed It's less-commonly pointed out because it's not really true. It's true that there was one bill, in 1993, that was proposed by a Republican and which happened to somewhat resemble the Affordable Care Act at a very high level. However: a) It was proposed by a Republican senator from a very blue state (Rhode Island) b) That Republican senator lost his next re-election bid c) The bill never received a vote e) The bill was only one of many GOP-sponsored healthcare bills that year f) Conservative and moderate Republicans strongly criticized the bill g) While it bore some resemblance to the ACA at a very high level, it was a very different bill in details and implementation, so it's misleading to suggest that supporting one and not the other would be hypocritical. There were a lot of things Democrats like about the ACA that weren't in Chafee's bill, and there are a lot of things that Republicans might like in Chafee's bill (or the ANHRA in the House) that were not present in the ACA.