Local congressmen react to health bill delay

March 24--The failure of a health care reform bill to muster enough votes before House Republican leaders pulled it from consideration Friday pleased the Democrats and disappointed the Republicans who represent the region in Congress.

U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-17, Moosic, opposed to replacing the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, with the Republican American Health Care Act, referred to as Trumpcare, said he hopes Congress turns to strengthening Obamacare.

"That is the very last thing that this (Republican bill) did and it was getting worse as time went on and they tried to corral more of the Freedom Caucus members by making the bill even more draconian than it was," Cartwright said. "It's obviously a bitter pill for the folks who have been wanting to repeal the ACA since this month seven years ago."

He expressed hope Republicans "get past the bitterness" and work with Democrats "to make the ACA work better for everybody."

A disappointed Rep. Lou Barletta, R-11, Hazleton, who planned to vote for the Trumpcare bill, said fixing the "fundamentally flawed" Obamacare system is impossible and predicted "it will crash under its own weight."

"The theory was great, we understood the theory, but the reality was the young people were not going to pay premiums for health insurance they didn't need and be told by the government what they had to buy so they were willing to pay the (tax) penalty (for not having health insurance)," Barletta said. "The challenge is how do you get younger people to buy something they don't feel they need and at the same time not charge older people who are more likely to get sicker more money that they can't afford."

Barletta said pulling the bill made sense because Republicans lacked the votes, but probably ends reform efforts for now.

"The American people are going to continue to suffer as their premiums continue to go through the roof, their deductibles will be unreachable and people who had health care won't because they simply won't be able to afford to go to their doctors," he said. "People will continue to see their premiums go through the roof and at that time we'll be forced to pass something."

A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Tom Marino, R-10, Lycoming Twp., issued a statement saying only that "Obamacare has failed the American people" and Marino remains committed to repealing it.

The spokesman declined to say if Marino supported Trumpcare, but various published reports counted him as a supporter.

In a statement, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey said Trumpcare died because "millions of Americans" exposed it as "a massive tax cut for the wealthiest at the expense of middle class families, seniors and individuals with disabilities." He called on Republicans "to end this obsession" with repealing Obamcare and strive "to keep what's working in health care and fix what isn't."

Contact the writer: bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com

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