Blum says he’s a no on Obamacare replacement bill

March 22--U.S. Rep. Rod Blum on Tuesday finally took a side on legislation put forth by the House Republican leadership on the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act, more commonly referred to as Obamacare.

The American Health Care Act "doesn't do enough to lower premiums for hardworking Americans. I'm a 'no' on current version -- need to drive down actual costs!" the Republican representative of Iowa's 1st district tweeted Tuesday afternoon.

Until Tuesday, Blum had been cautious to reveal his thoughts, telling the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier as recently as Friday that he was "keeping an open mind about the bill, and we'll see what it ends up being."

The AHCA, unveiled earlier in March, would tie tax credits to age rather than income as well as roll back federal funding for the Medicaid expansion starting in 2020 and move the entitlement program to a per capita cap, among other changes.

It has come under fire from a wide range of groups, including Heritage Action and Club for Growth as well as the American Hospital Association and American Medical Association.

Despite his stance on this version of replacement legislation -- which the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates would result in 24 million fewer people with insurance -- Democrats argue that the real problem is Blum's desire to repeal the ACA.

"Congressman Blum's vote to begin this process in January will result in much fewer hardworking folks with health care, an age tax on older Iowans, and higher rates and deductibles, which will cause out-of-pocket costs to skyrocket," said Patrick Burgwinkle, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesman. "Blum has been trying to take affordable health care away from Iowans since he got to Washington -- his cheap talk doesn't change a thing."

Blum is a member of the House Freedom Caucus -- a group of hard line conservative Representatives and an emerging thorn in the AHCA's side.

CNN reported Tuesday that Freedom Caucus members believe there are enough "no" votes to kill the bill, which is scheduled to go before the House floor for a vote on Thursday.

"I'm confident that we have still enough concerns that a vote of 216 votes in the House would not happen today," Rep. Mark Meadows, R-North Carolina, the Freedom Caucus chairman, told the news organization.

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