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 The White House is eager to move forward on legislation to repeal
and replace the Affordable Care Act, commonly called Obamacare, to
make good on a key campaign promise. Republicans tried but failed to
pass a replacement bill in March in an embarrassing setback for the
Trump Administration.
Lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow states to opt out
of Obamacare protections for people with pre-existing medical
conditions - provisions that force insurers to charge sick people
and healthy people the same rates. It was unclear when or if a vote
would be scheduled.
Trump told Fox News Channel that he would not set a deadline for the
vote, and indicated he was open to improvements. "We’re either going
to have a great plan or I’m not signing it," he said in the
interview.
In a separate interview with Bloomberg News, Trump insisted that the
new bill would maintain protections for pre-existing conditions.
"I want it to be good for sick people. It’s not in its final form
right now," he told Bloomberg. "It will be every bit as good on
pre-existing conditions as Obamacare."
Ten major patient advocacy groups said they opposed the reworked
healthcare bill, including the American Heart Association and
American Diabetes Association.
Other major medical groups such as the American Medical Association
have also expressed concerns over coverage losses and unaffordable
insurance for those with pre-existing conditions.
HOUSE DIVIDED
Republican lawmakers have struggled to unite around legislation,
with moderates and conservatives within the caucus divided over key
provisions.
Once a plan passes the Republican-controlled House, it is expected
to face a tough fight in the Senate, where Republicans have a
narrower majority and where some party senators have expressed
misgivings about the House bill.
White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and White House economic
adviser Gary Cohn on Monday said in separate interviews with CBS'
"This Morning" that they thought there were enough votes to pass the
bill this week.
House Republican leaders were more cautious. As of Monday afternoon,
no vote had been scheduled and backers of the healthcare proposal
had not released legislative language.
Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, chair of the House Republican
conference, said Republican members needed time to understand new
tweaks to the bill.
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"We are having those member-to-members conversations right now,"
McMorris Rodgers told Fox News.
Vice President Mike Pence made his way to Capitol Hill late on
Monday to make the case to members who are on the fence, a
Republican aide said on condition of anonymity, noting leaders are
believed to be within five or six votes of having enough support to
pass the bill.
The Freedom Caucus, which brought down the previous effort to pass a
healthcare bill, has endorsed the new measure. The Republican aide
told Reuters all but one or two members of the group will support
the reworked plan.
"This bill doesn’t get all the way there but it’s a good step and is
... the best we can get out of the House right now," Representative
Jim Jordan, chairman of the group, told CNN.
But several moderate Republicans were either undecided or opposed
the bill for fear that it would not protect those with pre-existing
conditions and cause millions to lose health insurance.
Representative Charlie Dent, a moderate Republican from
Pennsylvania, said he still had problems with the latest plan and
suspected there were not enough votes to pass it.
"Too many Americans are going to be without coverage," Dent told
MSNBC, adding that the plan could make things even worse for
vulnerable Americans.
(Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu and Mark Hosenball; Writing by
Roberta Rampton; Editing by Caren Bohan and Dan Grebler)
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