Charlie Dent remains on fence on Obamacare repeal bill

March 21--After a set of changes to the Obamacare repeal unveiled late Monday and a Capitol Hill visit from President Trump, Republican U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent is still considering his vote on the Obamacare repeal bill.

Dent, whose 15th District includes Lehigh County and part of Northampton County, told The Morning Call that this morning he began reviewing the pending amendment drafted in response to concerns from both conservative and moderate legislators.

So far, what he's seen hasn't been enough to win him over.

"Some things are positive. Some things don't go as far as I'd like, on the tax credit piece in particular," Dent said in an interview.

He had repeatedly expressed concerns about the size of the tax credits to offset insurance premiums, saying those in the original measure were too small.

Among the changes released Monday night was a provision that would allow the Senate to beef up tax credits for older Americans who could see major increases in premiums under the GOP plan.

Dent said he'd prefer to see those tax credits tweaked before the bill clears the House.

He'll also be watching for an updated report from the Congressional Budget Office. The previous report projected that the measure would reduce the federal deficit but would result in 24 million more Americans becoming uninsured.

It's unclear when an updated CBO report will be made available. The House is expected to vote Thursday on the measure.

The bill's changes halting Medicaid expansion would have a significant effect on the number of uninsured Americans.

Four Republican governors, including Ohio Gov. John Kasich, have written to Congress about needing greater flexibility and resources, Dent noted -- before pausing to take a phone call from Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, who also has expressed concerns about the Medicaid changes.

Dent said he'll have more to say after an afternoon meeting at the White House, where he and others from the centrist Republicans' Tuesday Group will be meeting with President Trump.

It will be the second time Dent will see the president today. Trump spoke during the House Republican conference's closed-door meeting this morning.

Dent said the president "didn't get into specifics" on the legislation.

"It was more general, 'Go team' type of thing," he said.

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