McConnell touts GOP healthcare plan ahead of Trump visit to Kentucky

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) used an op-ed in the Louisville Courier-Journal to welcome President Trump to his turf.

Trump will hold a rally there on Monday evening to discuss the GOP plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare, which is expected to get a House vote on Thursday.

“Obamacare has become a mess in Kentucky, just like it has across the nation,” McConnell wrote. “In our state, premiums are rising by as much as 47 percent this year alone. It’s now clear that the so-called Affordable Care Act is anything but affordable.”

{mosads}McConnell continued: “We cannot sit on our hands and hope that Obamacare will improve. It’s a failed law affecting real people every day.”

He said the current House bill, which has lost support among both conservatives and moderate members of the GOP, “is only the first part of our three-prong repeal and replace strategy.”

“Next, the executive branch will use its broad authority to further provide relief, lower costs, and improve access. Finally, Congress will also consider future legislation to reform the health care market and make it more competitive.”

McConnell defended the speed with which the legislation is moving through Congress.

“We’re moving quickly because things will only continue to get worse unless we act,” he wrote.

“Republicans want to give the people of Kentucky better care, lower costs, and more choices. We are determined to provide relief to Kentucky families, and I appreciate President Trump’s leadership in this effort.”

McConnell’s fellow home-state senator, Rand Paul, expressed doubts Sunday that the current healthcare legislation can pass through Congress.

“I don’t believe so. I think there’s enough conservatives that do not want ‘ObamaCare lite,’ ” Paul said on ABC’s “This Week.”