{"articles":[{"id":449,"title":"Should Republicans Keep Trying to \"Repeal & Replace\" Obamacare?","html_content":"

by Causes | 5.2.17

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. That’s become the de facto motto of Republican leaders as they try to make good on their years-long promise to \"repeal and replace\" the Affordable Care Act.

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But the latest deal they made to win over skeptical conservative lawmakers has alienated the more moderate wing of the party. Now, GOP leaders are putting on a happy face while working behind the scenes to win over support from the 20 or so Republicans who have come out opposed to the bill.

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\"We want to have a situation where people can afford their health insurance. We want to have a situation where people have a choice of health insurers. That’s not happening in Obamacare,\" Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday. “We’re excited about this policy. We’re making very good progress with our members. And our president has been instrumental.”

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The problem Republican leaders have, though, is that a growing number of their rank and file keep bolting, opposing the new bill. Many in the GOP don’t like that the new proposal – called the MacArthur-Meadows amendment – includes a provision that allows states to apply for a waiver from covering essential health benefits, like pre-existing conditions and maternity care.

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At the same time, some in the more conservative wing of the party have started to back away from the deal.

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\"I have always stated that one of the few good things about Obamacare is that people with pre-existing conditions would be covered,\" Rep. Billy Long (R-Mis.) said in a surprising statement on Monday. “The MacArthur amendment strips away any guarantee that pre-existing conditions would be covered and affordable.”

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This confluence of opposition -- from both the conservative and moderate wings of the Republican party -- is complicating GOP leaders’ attempts to bring their \"repeal and replace\" bill to the floor of the House of Representatives, before it takes a week long break next week.

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\"I still believe that we can get a vote this week if we all work together to try to understand everybody’s position,\" Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) told Countable. “I’m working real hard to try to understand those positions of people that are in California or New York or Pennsylvania – understand that their district is different than mine.”

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What do you think of the Republican health care bill? Tell your Reps!

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-- Matt Laslo

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(Photo Credit: Martin Falbisoner via Wikimedia /Creative Commons)

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