Tennessee Republicans insist fight to repeal Obamacare isn’t over

March 24--WASHINGTON -- Reeling from a stunning defeat, Tennessee Republicans insisted Friday the fight to repeal the Affordable Care Act is far from over after House GOP leaders canceled a vote on their own health care bill when it became clear the legislation would not pass.

"Everything looks easy from a distance, but this is a very difficult, complicated issue," said Rep. John J. Duncan Jr., R-Knoxville. "We will just have to keep working on it with the Obamacare disaster collapsing and causing major problems. Something has to be done to improve our health care system."

Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Brentwood, said Republicans will continue talking with their colleagues and hearing feedback from their constituents to be certain than any future legislation "reflects the conservative principles of a patient centered marketplace."

"Our hard work is not over," she said.

Rep. Phil Roe, R-Johnson City, added: "Our work to protect patients from the failures of Obamacare will continue."

House Speaker Paul Ryan canceled a vote on the GOP bill to replace the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, Friday afternoon after several days of cajoling and arm-twisting failed to win over enough votes from his own members to pass the legislation.

Ryan and other GOP leaders said they are ready to move on from health care to other issues, such as tax reform and securing the nation's southern border, essentially giving up on their No. 1 legislative priority for the foreseeable future.

While Ryan had been unable to corral enough votes from his own members to pass the GOP plan, known as the American Health Care Act, he did win over Tennessee Republicans.

Six of the seven GOP House members said they intended to vote for the Republican bill, including two lawmakers -- Blackburn and freshman Rep. David Kustoff of Germantown -- who had been on the fence.

"For seven years, Obamacare has been a burden on the American people," Kustoff said early Friday in a statement announcing his support for the bill. "With premiums rising and insurers dropping out of the exchange at an alarming rate, the failing health care law is in a death spiral. Republicans have promised to repeal this disastrous law and provide relief to the American people."

Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-South Pittsburg, was leaning toward voting no on the bill, and his position had not changed when Ryan pulled the legislation.

"Obamacare has cost the country jobs and quality health care," he said. "Tennessee has experienced the worst, and since 2010 I've fought for repeal. As currently written, however, the American Health Care Act keeps many of the same policies responsible for high premiums, which would continue to rise. While we made important changes to solve the problem of Obamacare, more are necessary. ... To get it right, we're ready to work even harder."

The GOP plan would have repealed many of the reforms enacted seven years ago under then-President Barack Obama. But conservative Republicans balked at the legislation, arguing it didn't go far enough to roll back the ACA reforms and bring down insurance premiums. Some moderate Republicans also turned against the bill after an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office showed that millions of Americans who currently have health insurance would lose it under the GOP plan.

Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Ooltewah, said that while the Republican bill was not perfect, it was "a step in the right direction."

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Maryville, said the House decision not to vote on the legislation "changes nothing about the urgency of rescuing 230,000 Tennesseans who buy insurance on Obamacare exchanges that our state insurance commissioner has said 'are very near collapse.'"

"Unless Congress and the president act soon, these Tennesseans -- some of the most vulnerable citizens in our state -- are likely to have zero choices of insurance in 2018," Alexander said. "Millions of Americans in other states are facing the same dire circumstances. Congress has a responsibility to continue its work to solve this problem and to give more Americans more choices of lower-cost health insurance."

The two Tennessee Democrats in the House -- Reps. Jim Cooper of Nashville and Steve Cohen of Memphis -- applauded the collapse of the GOP plan.

"I'm glad the House didn't pass this bad bill and hurt people who need health care," Cooper said. "...Obamacare isn't perfect. But we should work together to fix the law and make it better for everyone. It will take courage and political will from both parties. I hope Congress is up to the task because voters are watching."

Cohen said the GOP bill should have been called "the 'Ebenezer Scrooge Act' because it "enriches the wealthiest individuals and harms the less fortunate, both fiscally and physically."

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