Stefanik AHCA amendment would tie lawmakers to health care changes

April 29--Tweet

U.S. Rep. Elise M. Stefanik wants to prevent lawmakers from exempting themselves from state-level changes to the American Health Care Act.

An amendment added to the AHCA that allows states to change existing Obamacare regulations within the AHCA also includes language exempting members of Congress from those changes. Ms. Stefanik is looking to strike the language from the amendment with legislation she presented Thursday.

"Congress should live by the same laws it passes onto the rest of the nation," Ms. Stefanik said, in a statement. "This is why I receive my healthcare through the Obamacare exchanges, though I decline the Congressional subsidy. This commonsense legislation would ensure Members of Congress do not receive special treatment if the AHCA becomes law."

The amendment was authored by U.S. Rep. Thomas MacArthur, R-N.J. Mr. MacArthur and Ms. Stefanik are co-chairs of the House Republican Tuesday Group, a policy caucus within the House Republican Conference comprised of House moderates.

Ms. Stefanik co-authored the language correction bill with U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz.

The MacArthur amendment was part of an agreement between moderates and Freedom Caucus conservatives as Republicans continue to work out AHCA differences to secure supporting votes, but media outlets have reported that the bill still does not have the votes needed to be passed by Congress.

As far as Ms. Stefanik's position goes, the Times-Union reported that she is still tight-lipped on how she intends to vote on the plan and is waiting for final budget negotiations to wrap up. Congress passed a small spending plan Friday that would prevent the government from shutting down over the weekend and into next week.

Nearing his 100th day in office, President Donald J. Trump has struggled to move the Obamacare replacement forward, as well as an overall spending plan. The AHCA was pulled from Congress last month before it was slated to hit the voting floor, as it failed to garner enough votes to guarantee it would be passed in the House.

During those negotiations, Ms. Stefanik never revealed how she would've voted on the legislation, had it gone to vote. She did, however, help secure a $15 billion addition to the AHCA for substance abuse treatment, mental health and maternity care.

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