Last-Ditch Effort Mounted To Pass Health Care Bill

Boston Herald (MA)

March 23--WASHINGTON -- President Trump said he'd back amendments to the GOP health care bill once it reaches the Senate, in a last-ditch push to change the minds of conservative lawmakers who say they have enough "no" votes to torpedo the bill when it goes to the House floor today.

Trump met with 18 Republican House members at the White House yesterday, including some in the House Freedom Caucus who have opposed the Republican plan to replace Obamacare. The caucus members have rejected the legislation because it does not include a full repeal of the federal health care law's "essential health benefits" coverage requirements, and have labeled the measure "Obamacare Lite."

White House spokesman Sean Spicer dismissed the notion that today's vote would be delayed or that the bill would be changed in an effort to cull more support from conservatives, saying "there is no Plan B."

"This bill represents the best chance of repealing and replacing Obamacare and instilling a patient-centric health care system that increases choice and lowers cost, and this is the only train leaving the station," Spicer said.

"This is it. If you want to see Obamacare repealed and replaced, this is the vote. This is the time to act."

But U.S. Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) one of the lawmakers at the White House meeting, said the president vowed to back a Senate amendment supported by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to eliminate that coverage requirement in an effort to bring more GOP House members on board.

"I have a full and firm commitment ... from President Trump that he will use his political leverage to go public and work hard to get the Mitch McConnell amendment," King said on Facebook Live yesterday.

Meanwhile Democrats rallied against the Republican bill in a House Rules Committee meeting yesterday, saying it will cut coverage and raise costs for Americans, including those in the Bay State.

Springfield U.S. Rep. Richard Neal read a statement from Gov. Charlie Baker which stated that the GOP plan "would increasingly strain the fiscal resources needed to support the commonwealth's commitment to universal health care coverage."

"The Republican plan reminds me of a used car salesman giving a 10 percent discount on the cost of a car -- but if you want tires and an engine and a windshield, you're going to have to pay more," Neal said.

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