House Freedom Caucus chair open to ObamaCare deal

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) said Friday that he could support a bill aimed at stabilizing ObamaCare and making key payments under the law if conservatives got enough in return.

Namely, Meadows told reporters that he could support a bill funding the payments known as cost-sharing reductions (CSRs) if in return states were given enough flexibility through waivers to repeal certain ObamaCare regulations.

{mosads}Asked if he could support a standalone bill making the payments, Meadows said: “It depends on the amount of flexibility given through the waiver process, and so in some scheme the answer is yes, and yet at the same time the detail would make a huge difference.”

Meadows is working with Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.), a more centrist Republican, on a bill to fund the ObamaCare payments, increase flexibility for states and lower drug costs. The details have not yet been released.

At the same time, Meadows is not giving up on repeal and is pushing for a bill from Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) to convert ObamaCare spending into block grants to states.

Meadows said if that measure were to move forward, it would make it easier to support a CSR payment bill.

“Guys like me would be more willing to vote for a CSR payment if you had a true transition to something other than the Affordable Care Act,” Meadows said.

The Senate Health Committee is working on a bipartisan ObamaCare stabilization bill that is expected to include CSR payments and new flexibility for states on regulations.

But the Senate’s flexibility provisions could be less than what conservatives like Meadows want. Democrats are wary of allowing states to repeal too many ObamaCare regulations, like the essential health benefits that mandate that insurance plans cover services like mental health care and prescription drugs.