Banks: Health-care proposal not perfect, but better than Obamacare

News-Sentinel (Fort Wayne, IN)

March 24--The proposed replacement for Obamacare isn't perfect, Jim Banks concedes, but he plans to vote for it Friday in the spirit of Ronald Reagan's admonition not to "let the perfect get in the way of the good."

The freshman member of the House of Representatives was among the Republicans who met with President Trump last week to address concerns expressed by conservatives, and the resulting changes persuaded Banks the proposed bill would represent a dramatic improvement over the current Affordable Care Act and could improve even more through negotiations with the Senate and anticipated amendments such as the ability to shop for insurance across state lanes.

Even so, Banks isn't certain the changes will be enough to pass in the House, where some conservatives have said the bill does not do enough to erase Obamacare and an even larger number of moderates have said it may go too far. "It will be close," said Banks, R-3rd. "There are still issues (with the bill) but, overall, it would be a significant step forward." Northeast Indiana would especially benefit, he said, because the bill would eliminate the tax on medical implants, many of which are manufactured in Warsaw. "No district would benefit more (from that)," he said.

The House was expected to vote on the proposal Thursday but did not do so, Banks said, because the votes needed for passage simply were not there. Today's vote, he said, is in response to word from Trump that he is done negotiating.

"If it doesn't pass," Banks said, "he's going to move on (to other things). He promised the American people (a vote)."

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