Overnight Healthcare: Trump tells governors he’s crafting his own ObamaCare plan | Top conservatives to oppose draft ObamaCare bill

President Trump told governors at a meeting at the White House Monday that his administration will put forward its own ObamaCare replacement plan within a few weeks, according to two governors who attended the meeting.

“The way I felt, I think Secretary Price was going to be coming up with a plan,” Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) told a small group of reporters on Monday after returning from the White House meeting.

“I felt that way, didn’t you Brian? It was pretty clear,” McAuliffe said, referring to Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval (R), who was standing next to him.

Sandoval then said “yes,” and indicated the message was that the administration plan would be ready “within a few weeks.”

McAuliffe said that Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price, who was in the meeting, said that the plan will be ready in three weeks. Trump replied, “No, I want it in two,” according to McAuliffe. Read more here. http://bit.ly/2l68bOK

Top House Republicans won’t back draft ObamaCare replacement

The chairman of the influential Republican Study Committee said Monday he would vote against a draft ObamaCare replacement bill that leaked last week.

Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.), head of the 172-member committee, said he could not “in good conscience” recommend fellow committee members vote for the draft.

Walker said his opposition stems from the draft bill’s use of refundable tax credits.

“There are serious problems with what appears to be our current path to repeal and replace Obamacare. The draft legislation, which was leaked last week, risks continuing major Obamacare entitlement expansions and delays any reforms,” Walker said in a statement.

“It kicks the can down the road in the hope that a future Congress will have the political will and fiscal discipline to reduce spending that this Congress apparently lacks. Worse still,” Walker continued, “the bill contains what increasingly appears to be a new health insurance entitlement with a Republican stamp on it.”

Read more here: http://bit.ly/2mxN84O

Walker became the second top Republican to come out against the draft bill Monday. Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), chair of the conservative Freedom Caucus, also said he would vote against the measure as drafted. He voiced his opposition to the tax credits, which he called an “entitlement program,” in an interview with CNN.

“What is conservative about a new entitlement program and a new tax increase? And should that be the first thing that the president signs of significance that we sent to the new president?” Meadows said.

“A new Republican president signs a new entitlement and a new tax increase as his first major piece of legislation? I don’t know how you support that — do you?”

Read more on Meadows’s remarks here: http://bit.ly/2mnxYCh

Trump: ‘Nobody knew that healthcare could be so complicated’

President Trump said Monday that “nobody knew that healthcare could be so complicated,” as Republicans have been slow to unite around a replacement plan for ObamaCare.

“I have to tell you, it’s an unbelievably complex subject,” Trump said after a meeting with conservative governors at the White House.

The GOP governors were in town this weekend for their annual conference and met with Trump to talk about a variety of things, but it’s likely the conversation largely focused on healthcare.

Governors have been split on what should be done with ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion, which brought health coverage to many even in deep-red states.

Read more here: http://bit.ly/2mxpoxz

What we’re reading

If ObamaCare exits, some may need to rethink early retirement (The New York Times)

GOP’s new plan to repeal ObamaCare: Dare fellow Republicans to block effort (Wall Street Journal)

The adults a Medicaid work requirement would leave behind (The New York Times)

State by state

Illinois scraps Medicaid managed care, outlines new plan (Crain’s Chicago Business)

California bill calls for state-run healthcare system (The Sacramento Bee)

Scott Walker: Wisconsin healthcare system is model for US (WSAU)

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