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 Vice President Mike Pence and administration officials met on
Capitol Hill for two hours with lawmakers from the moderate "Tuesday
Group," the conservative Republican Study Committee, and the House
Freedom Caucus, the rebel group of conservative lawmakers that
derailed the first administration-backed healthcare bill last month.
While progress had been made, the officials and House lawmakers said
no bill text had been agreed on and no decisions had been made by
the various Republican factions.
The lack of a resolution complicates a White House push for a House
vote on a healthcare proposal before Friday, when lawmakers return
to their districts for two weeks.
“Good talk, good progress,” Pence told reporters without providing
details.
Freedom Caucus leader Mark Meadows said the meeting had focused on
an amendment to create a "backstop" to ensure individuals with
chronic illnesses in high-risk pools do not see spikes in insurance
premium costs if other aspects of Obamacare, also known as the 2010
Affordable Care Act, are repealed.
“No decisions were made. We’re going to get back together tomorrow
at a time to be determined,” Meadows told reporters.
Republican Study Committee Chairman Mark Walker said the focus when
talks resumed would be on sticking points such as whether to allow
states to opt out of Obamacare mandates that insurers must cover a
minimum tier of services and cannot charge more to those with
pre-existing conditions - a popular provision of the law that Trump
has promised to protect.
LEGISLATIVE TEST
The Republican failure last month to dismantle Obamacare was
President Donald Trump's first major legislative setback and it
raised questions about how he would build Republican consensus to
deliver on other major legislative goals.
Many Republicans were elected on promises to repeal and replace
Obamacare but House Speaker Paul Ryan was forced to withdraw the
bill when it became clear there were not enough Republican votes to
pass it.
Hard-line conservatives, such as those in the Freedom Caucus,
thought it was too similar to former Democratic President Barack
Obama's signature healthcare law. Moderate conservatives balked at
proposed changes to some of its most popular provisions that were
sought by conservative lawmakers.
Trump initially said he would move on to fulfilling other campaign
promises such as a tax overhaul and infrastructure-spending package,
but a new attempt at reviving the failed healthcare push took off on
Monday when White House officials met Republican lawmakers.
A source familiar with internal House Republican deliberations said
healthcare, not taxes, now topped the House agenda and that the
White House was driving the healthcare effort.
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"They want to get this done as quickly as possible," Meadows told
reporters after Tuesday's meeting.
Republican lawmakers have said the new push on healthcare would
maintain Obamacare's essential health benefits clause listing
services and care that insurers must cover. However, in a move to
attract hard-line conservatives, states could apply for a waiver if
they showed it would improve coverage and reduce costs.
The "backstop" for individuals in the high-risk pool discussed on
Tuesday would direct additional funds to a $115 billion state
stability fund authorized in the first Republican bill. No final
decision was made, even though there was consensus, lawmakers said.
"We’re taking our time and working through policy and structure
until we reach consensus," said Ways and Means Committee Chairman
Kevin Brady.
"Let’s let the solution and common ground drive the timetable,
rather than the other way. That was really the consensus," he said.
Ryan told reporters after a closed meeting with fellow Republicans
on Tuesday morning that the renewed healthcare effort was simply in
the "conceptual stage right now," and did not give a timeline for
having a bill on the House floor.
Talk of a revived plan hurt shares of hospitals and insurers that
have benefited from Obamacare's expansion of the Medicaid program
for the poor, which extended insurance to millions of people and
helped cut hospital debt.
Major hospital and medical groups, including the American Medical
Association, were opposed to the initial Republican bill because it
would lead to massive coverage losses and cuts in hospital revenue.
(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan and Doina Chiacu; Writing by
Amanda Becker and Alistair Bell; Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Bill
Trott and Paul Tait)
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