Rep. Taylor said he’ll vote for GOP bill to replace Obamacare

March 22--U.S. Rep. Scott Taylor said Tuesday he'll vote this week for Republican legislation that would overhaul the health care system, abolishing key components of the Affordable Care Act.

Taylor declared his intentions just hours after he and other GOP lawmakers met privately on Capitol Hill to hear President Donald Trump's aggressive push for their votes.

The Virginian Beach Republican said he'd already made up his mind before Trump's visit.

"I think leaders must act, and to not do so leaves the failing status quo of Obamacare," Taylor said in a telephone interview. "There are those who say this bill doesn't do 100 percent of what they want it to do. But I believe that 85 percent of something in the right direction is a lot better than nothing."

With Taylor's decision, Hampton Roads federal lawmakers have divided along party lines on the replacement legislation, called Trumpcare by some. A House vote is expected as early as Thursday.

Reps. Bobby Scott and Donald McEachin and Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine -- all Democrats -- oppose the bill, arguing that it would lead to millions losing insurance and substantially raise health care costs for older Americans.

Taylor won election to the 2nd Congressional District seat last year in part by promising to support abolition of the Affordable Care Act in favor of a then-unknown replacement. On Tuesday he reiterated his opposition to the financial linchpin of the health care law: requiring almost everyone to have health insurance or pay a penalty, and requiring many employers to offer coverage.

"I believe that the government should not require citizens to engage in commerce that they do not want to engage in," Taylor said. "I was quite clear in my campaign that Obamacare is failing and we needed to repeal and replace it."

He argued that insurance premiums and deductibles under the current law are too high for too many people. "You also have people walking around with insurance cards and deductibles they can't afford. That's not insurance," Taylor said.

"You have insurers pulling out of markets and leaving monopolies behind."

He disputed a March 13 report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office warning that the number of people without health insurance would grow to 24 million in the next decade -- 14 million more than expected under current law.

Taylor contended, as has the Trump Administration, that the report doesn't include many changes omitted from the CBO's analysis. The congressman noted that the agency's estimates have been imprecise on past predictions of the effect of the Affordable Care Act and Medicare's prescription drug program for retirees.

Taylor said Trump's private speech to lawmakers was persuasive.

"The president has got a big stick," Taylor said. "The people who were leaning yes on the fence are absolutely on board now. ... People who were leaning no, they're probably reconsidering, if you will."

Among Virginia's 11 U.S. House members, the four Democrats oppose it but the seven Republicans are split. Most recently, Rep. Rob Wittman a Westmoreland County Republican, announced he will vote against the GOP bill.

Wittman, who favors repealing Obamacare, said he made the decision after reviewing the recent critical CBO report that was discounted by Taylor.

"I do not think this bill will do what is necessary for the short- and long-term best interests of Virginians, and therefore I must oppose it," Wittman said.

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