Week ahead: Leaked ObamaCare bill fires up debate

The ObamaCare battle is returning full-time to Washington.

Lawmakers are back on Monday after a weeklong break which saw many Republicans face angry constituents worried about losing coverage under a repeal of ObamaCare.

The debate in Washington will be accelerated by the leak on Friday of a draft GOP repeal and replacement bill.

That draft bill repeals the core elements of the law, like subsidies to help people afford coverage and the expansion of Medicaid, and puts in place a new system based on a tax credit adjusted for a person’s age.

Lawmakers will have a chance to further respond to and debate the proposal next week.

{mosads}Governors in town for a conference will also meet with President Trump Monday as Republicans wrestle with the future of ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion.

“ObamaCare repeal and replace is going to be the top discussion point, because governors will be at the tip of the spear on that,” Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) told reporters at the Conservative Political Action  Conference (CPAC) on Thursday. “You’ve got to do it in such a way that you are repealing but you’re not kicking people off, so that’s the tricky piece of it.”

GOP lawmakers say they’re looking to governors for advice on how to handle the expansion as they look to repeal and replace ObamaCare.

Some Republican governors, like Ohio’s John Kasich and Nevada’s Brian Sandoval have praised the Medicaid expansion and are wary of losing it.

The governors will also meet with Republican and Democratic lawmakers Monday.

Bloomberg reports that Trump will also be meeting with top executives from U.S. health insurers, including the head of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, Scott Serota.

Anthem Inc. and Cigna Corp. have also been invited to the sitdown.

All eyes will also be on Trump on Tuesday, when he delivers his first address to Congress. Both sides in the ObamaCare debate will be listening for any clues on the president’s healthcare priorities. The president has said a healthcare plan is coming in March, but its unclear if that will be his own proposal or a plan worked out with congressional Republicans. 

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