Conservative chair: ObamaCare talks ‘over’ but bill won’t pass

The chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus says the negotiations on the ObamaCare repeal plan are “over” but predicts the legislation won’t pass the House.  

“We’ve communicated very clearly what we’d like to see and have done. We’ve spent hours and hours and hours investing in trying to make this a better bill, and at this point it’s very clear that negotiations are over,” Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) told reporters Monday. 

Meadows met over weekend with White House officials at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. 

House Republican leaders are planning on releasing an amendment to the healthcare plan Monday night, but Meadows said he has seen the changes and that they are not enough to sway votes. 

“There are some small tweaks that are good tweaks, but there’s not substantial changes in the manager’s amendment that would make anybody be more compelled to vote for this,” Meadows said. 

“I don’t think that the bill will pass without substantial changes.” 

The 40-member Freedom Caucus will not take a formal stance against the bill, but Meadows said he’s confident that there are enough “no” votes within his caucus to prevent the measure from passing.

Leadership can only afford 21 GOP defections and still pass the bill on a floor vote Thursday, if Democrats stay united against it.

Meadows and other conservatives want a full repeal of ObamaCare’s insurer mandates and requirements. But those changes would likely to scare off moderates in the House and Senate.

Leadership has also said those pieces cannot be included in the current legislation because of Senate procedural rules.