What is Obamacare, what happened in the repeal vote and what does Donald Trump want to do?

PRESIDENT Donald Trump has slammed those preventing him from revoking Obamacare after the Senate rejected his repeal - dealing a serious blow to his agenda.

Repealing the healthcare law was one of the reality star turned US President's major commitments as he came into office.

But what does it all mean, and what will be replacing the current healthcare system?

What is Obamacare?

Obamacare, or The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, was introduced in 2010 and extended health insurance coverage to some of the 15 per cent estimated who were not covered.

Those people did not receive any coverage from their employers and were not covered by US health programmes for the poor and elderly.

The law introduced by Obama required all Americans to have health insurance, offering subsidies to make coverage more affordable and aimed to reduce the costs by bringing younger, healthier people into the system.

It also required businesses with more than 50 full-time employees to offer health coverage, but this was delayed until 2015.

The system also expanded eligibility for the poor, banned insurance companies from denying health coverage to people with pre-existing health conditions, and allowed young people to stay on their parent's plans until they were 26.

But the reform was criticised by others who said that it had hefty premiums, with the roll out also beleaguered with deadlines pushed back, website meltdowns, broken promises from President Obama, job cut predictions and more delays.

This has led to opposition to Obamacare, largely from Republicans, many of whom who see the programme as a disaster.

Why does Donald Trump hate Obamacare?

A huge part of Republican Trump's campaign to become President was his dislike of Obamacare, and his plans to reform healthcare.

He described it as an "incredible economic burden" which resulted in "runaway costs, websites that don't work, greater rationing of care, higher premiums, less competition and fewer choices".

What does he plan to do with Obamacare?

Donald Trump was quick to attempt to replace Obamacare with a new health bill but he was left humiliated after failing to get the right-wing Freedom Caucus in Congress to back his changes.

But the President has since come storming back, with his own bill - the American Health Care Act (ACHA) being approved by the House of Representatives.

Trump's AHCA would scrap the measures for companies with 50 plus staff, enable insurers to charge older customers five times more - but allow young people to stay on their parents' policies until the age of 26.

House majority leader Kevin McCarthy said the bill would give Americans greater choice and stop the current Obamacare "death spiral" of higher costs.

What has happened with Obamacare now?

Trump's nemesis John McCain struck a blow by siding with the Democrats to block repealing Obamacare.

The maverick Republican returned to the Senate this week just days after having surgery for brain cancer to thwart the controversial “skinny repeal”.

The Arizona senator joined two other members of the GOP, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska to send the bill down by 51-49.

On Twitter, McCain said the repeal bill “fell short of our promise to repeal & replace Obamacare w/ meaningful reform I hope we can rely on humility, cooperation & dependence on each other to better serve the people who elected us.”

The setback leaves him without a major legislative win after more than six months in power, even though Republicans control the White House, Senate and House of Representatives.

“3 Republicans and 48 Democrats let the American people down. As I said from the beginning, let Obamacare implode, then deal. Watch!” Trump tweeted after the vote.