GOP governors back latest ObamaCare repeal bill

A group of 15 Republican governors is urging the Senate to pass the latest ObamaCare repeal legislation, saying the bill would give more power to the states.

Led by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, the governors said in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) that flexible block grants to the states are the best option to replace ObamaCare.

{mosads}“Adequately funded, flexible block grants to the states are the last, best hope to finally repeal and replace Obamacare — a program which is collapsing before our very eyes,” the governors wrote.

The legislation, sponsored by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), would end funding for ObamaCare’s subsidies to help people afford coverage and the money for Medicaid expansion, and convert those dollars into block grants to states.

Democrats and some health experts warn the block grants would be too small and would lead to cuts in Medicaid and other health spending.

The funding for the block grant would be based on a complicated formula meant to redistribute money from high-spending states that expanded Medicaid to low-spending states that rejected the expansion.

Notably, three of the governors who signed the letter — Matt Bevin, of Kentucky; Eric Holcomb, of Indiana; and Hutchinson — represent expansion states.

“We appreciate the work of Senators Lindsey Graham, Bill Cassidy, Dean Heller, and Ron Johnson to draft language that embraces this simple, yet profound concept,” the governors wrote.