Trump aides, lawmakers hold talks to
revive healthcare bill
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[April 04, 2017]
By David Morgan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top White House
officials met moderate and conservative Republicans in the U.S. House of
Representatives on Monday in an effort to revive a plan to repeal and
replace Obamacare.
Key members of the administration, including Vice President Mike Pence,
invited a group of moderate Republicans known as the "Tuesday Group" to
the White House. Pence then went to Capitol Hill to meet the Freedom
Caucus, a group of House conservatives who last month derailed a
healthcare bill backed by President Donald Trump.
The White House would like to see a revised bill come up for a vote as
early as week's end, before the House breaks for a spring recess, and
the text of the new proposal could be ready some time on Tuesday,
lawmakers said.
"It was clear the president would be very happy come Friday to have this
passed," said U.S. Representative Chris Collins, a member of the Tuesday
Group and a Trump ally.
"This could move fairly quickly," he said.
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Just 10 days ago, House Speaker Paul Ryan was forced to cancel a vote on
a bill to replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act, popularly known as
Obamacare, when it was clear he could not deliver the votes needed for
it to pass.
The defeat was a big political setback for Trump and fellow Republicans
in Congress who were elected on pledges to repeal and replace former
Democratic President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law.
Freedom Caucus members said the Republican bill was too similar to
Obamacare, while moderate Republicans balked at some of the changes
conservatives sought.
Trump attacked Freedom Caucus members on Twitter late last week for
their opposition to the bill and threatened to work to defeat them in
the 2018 congressional elections.
At the weekend, he struck a more conciliatory tone, tweeting early on
Sunday: "Talks on Repealing and Replacing Obamacare are, and have been,
going on, and will continue until such time as a deal is hopefully
struck."
After golfing with the president on Sunday, Republican Senator Rand
Paul, a sharp critic of the Republicans' previous healthcare bill, also
expressed renewed hope the healthcare bill could be revised in a way
that picked up support from the conservative and moderate factions of
the Republican Party.
Paul told reporters he was "very optimistic that we are getting closer
and closer to an agreement repealing Obamacare."
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Vice President Mike Pence speaks. REUTERS/Bryan Woolston
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KEY PROVISIONS
Pence and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus laid out the
administration's revised healthcare plan during a 40-minute meeting with
Freedom Caucus members, said Congressman Mark Meadows, the leader of the
conservative group.
Meadows said he was "intrigued" by the new plan, which would allow
states to opt out of some of Obamacare's mandates, possibly by obtaining
waivers.
"We're encouraged ... but would certainly need a whole lot more
information before we can take any action either in support or in
opposition," Meadows told reporters. He expected to see a detailed draft
of the proposal within 24 hours, he said.
In the earlier meeting with the moderate Tuesday Group, White House
officials said the new plan would preserve Obamacare's essential health
benefits clause, or services and care that insurers must cover, but
states could apply for a waiver if they could show it would improve
coverage and reduce costs, according to Collins.
Trump aides also discussed directing funds from the $115 billion
stability fund for states into high-risk pools for people with
pre-existing health conditions to better ensure insurance premiums come
down in cost, Collins said.
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"It's an acknowledgement that they were chasing votes with the Freedom
Caucus and the Far Right and then ended up losing votes with those of us
who are typically the most reliable votes," Collins said of the proposal
provisions discussed at the meeting.
(Reporting by David Morgan; Writing by Eric Beech and Amanda Becker;
Editing by Peter Cooney and Paul Tait)
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