On Friday night, Bill Maher welcomed Marjorie Taylor Greene to Real Time With Bill Maher, sparking a spirited discussion that left no stone unturned. The 51-year-old congresswoman from Georgia joined journalist Michael Moynihan to delve into the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly referred to as Obamacare. The debate was particularly poignant, given the backdrop of the ongoing government shutdown and the looming expiration of COVID-era healthcare subsidies.

With a looming increase in ACA premiums set to take effect on November 1, Greene and Moynihan argued that Obamacare had inadvertently driven up the costs of private health insurance. They advocated for enhanced price transparency within the healthcare sector. However, Maher was quick to challenge their stance.

“Here’s what I know: Many people who previously had no health insurance were able to access something affordable through Obamacare. Despite relentless Republican efforts to dismantle it, it remains both popular and functional,” Maher asserted, acknowledging the GOP’s persistent attempts to undermine the ACA.

Maher didn’t shy away from ridiculing the Republican party’s longstanding claim of offering a superior alternative to Obamacare. He referenced Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s remarks, “‘The president would like to overhaul Obamacare and provide higher quality and more affordable health insurance.’ Well, I’d like to be able to dunk,” Maher quipped.

He pressed on, likening the GOP’s elusive healthcare solution to a mythical quest: “You talk about it as if it’s Big Foot, ‘We’re going to find it.’ But the truth is, this is what we have.”

Greene pushed back, saying, “I disagree. I tell you. When you make the American taxpayer foot the bill for so many other people, it’s completely wrong. And that’s what’s been happening for years now.”

She reiterated GOP frustrations over covering “illegal aliens’ health insurance” and decried lobbying influence in D.C. as a blockade to real healthcare solutions.

Greene added, “I truly believe that we need to do a better job, and I wish that [Speaker of the House] Mike Johnson would call us back into session so we could actually do our jobs.”

The exchange marked a fiery first appearance for Greene on Maher’s HBO stage — and a reminder that, nearly 15 years later, the fight over Obamacare is still very much alive.

You can watch a clip above of Maher and MTG discussing Obamacare during a panel discussion with Moynihan, and stream the full episode, including the aforementioned interview, on HBO Max.

Real Time With Bill Maher airs Fridays at 10/9c on HBO.