Romney says he has new plan to replace ObamaCare

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said Wednesday that he has a new plan to replace ObamaCare.

“It’s a replacement for ObamaCare,” Romney told The Hill. “We’re ready with that, but we’ll see what kind of support we get.”

{mosads}Romney commands a certain stature in the Senate as the former GOP presidential nominee. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has made clear that he does not want to dive back into the divisive ObamaCare debate.

In April, McConnell shut down a push by President Trump to work on a new ObamaCare repeal and replacement plan.

A spokesman for McConnell declined to comment when asked about Romney’s effort on Wednesday.

Romney did not provide any details of what his replacement plan entails. His office also declined to elaborate.

Even if Senate GOP leaders were interested in Romney’s plan, it has no chance of becoming law this year or next, given Democratic control of the House.

As governor of Massachusetts, Romney signed into law a plan that is widely seen as a precursor to ObamaCare. In later years and as a presidential candidate in 2012, Romney fiercely opposed the federal health law.

The existence of Romney’s plan was first reported by Bloomberg on Wednesday.

Several GOP Senate offices said Wednesday that they had not heard anything about Romney’s ObamaCare replacement plan or what is in it.

Democrats have been eagerly attacking Republicans over their efforts to undermine ObamaCare, including a GOP-backed lawsuit currently making its way through the courts that seeks to overturn the entire health law.

Democrats used GOP ObamaCare attacks as a key issue in their electoral victories last year, and many Republicans have been seeking to move past those attacks this year and instead focus on bipartisan health care efforts like reducing the cost of prescription drugs.

Asked when he will release his plan, Romney indicated he is seeking to gain support from his colleagues first.  

“It depends on the support, or lack thereof,” he said.