Overnight Healthcare: ObamaCare repeal markups stretch into the night

Lawmakers in the House are set for a late night as two committees continue markups of legislation that would repeal and replace ObamaCare.

Democrats are proposing a slew of amendments to the legislation in an attempt to slow the process down and force Republicans to take tough votes.

On the Ways and Means Committee, Democrats have offered a range of provisions rejected by the GOP that highlighted issues like the possibility of people losing coverage.

In the Energy and Commerce committee, Democrats dragged the process out by requiring the entire bill to be read aloud and refusing to offer their amendments.

Ranking member Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) said the Democrats have about 100 amendments to offer, meaning there is a possibility the markup could last for days.

Democrats harped on Republicans for calling a markup without a score from the Congressional Budget Office, meaning they are voting without an analysis of how much the bill will cost or how many people would lose coverage.

“I would think that people would want to know if their constituents would lose their insurance before they vote for this bill today,” said Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.).

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) pushed back.

“We expect CBO to have a thoughtful thorough comprehensive score to us before this recommendation goes to the Budget Committee, comes to the House floor,” he said.

Read more here: http://bit.ly/2m0Be1L

 

Conservatives say Trump open to changes

President Trump is open to changes in House Republicans’ plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare in order to ease concerns of skeptical conservatives, according to leaders who met with him Wednesday.

“I’m encouraged that the president indicated they’re pushing to make changes in the bill,” said David McIntosh, president of the Club for Growth, who added the proposal “has serious problems.”

McIntosh and the heads of other groups did not identify specific changes they would like to see. They ignored shouted questions from reporters after they spoke outside the West Wing.

Trump invited a half dozen leaders from outside conservative groups to meet with him in the Oval Office, part of his ramped-up sales pitch for the bill.

The Hill’s Jordan Fabian has more here: http://bit.ly/2mkQI2p

 

Battle erupts over ‘TrumpCare’

A war of words has broken out over the GOP’s ObamaCare replacement bill, with Democrats branding the legislation “TrumpCare” in their attempt to derail it.

The White House is rejecting the term, which Democrats from Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) on down are using to attack the Republican push to repeal large portions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

“It’s always more effective to have a straightforward, simple, branded line of attack against your opponent,” a Democratic campaign operative told The Hill.

“To the extent that ‘TrumpCare’ is a brand or phrase that both encapsulates the anger voters will have toward the policies this plan puts forward, as well as the anger that voters feel toward Donald Trump and their excitement and enthusiasm to oppose Trump, that will potent tool.”

In a five-minute speech Wednesday on the Senate floor, Schumer used the term “TrumpCare” 15 times.  

“TrumpCare will make healthcare in America worse in almost every way and likely leave more Americans uninsured,” Schumer said. “With respect to women, TrumpCare would send us back to the dark ages.”

Read more here: http://bit.ly/2mD5zrf

 

Meanwhile over in the Senate… resistance grows to the House bill

The House bill to repeal and replace ObamaCare is facing growing opposition from Senate Republicans. 

The plan, titled the American Health Care Act, is taking fire from both conservative and moderate factions of the Senate GOP caucus — underscoring the legislation’s perilous path in the upper chamber.

Republicans hold 52 seats, a narrow majority, in the Senate. So GOP leadership can only afford to lose two Republican votes if all Democrats and Independents oppose the measure, which would then require Vice President Pence to break the tie.

Three days after the release of the House bill, GOP senators are signaling that it faces a nearly impossible climb in its current form.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) expressed skepticism Wednesday that the measure would be able to win enough support among Senate Republicans to pass.

“The House bill is a beginning, but the House bill as drafted, I do not believe, would pass the United States Senate,” the conservative firebrand told reporters.

Read more here: http://bit.ly/2mkxIRz

 

Republican Study Committee pushes two changes to ObamaCare bill

The Republican Study Committee (RSC) is pushing two changes to the House GOP’s bill to repeal and replace ObamaCare, Chairman Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.) told reporters Wednesday.

The first is to change the structure of the tax credits in the bill to make them partially refundable. The second is freezing enrollment in ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion during the 115th Congress, which wraps up in January of 2018.

“Those two things — if we had some help in those two areas — then I’ll go ahead and so for the first time [say] that we would be a hard yes. We’d love to have a unanimous steering committee voting yes on this,” Walker said.

Read more here: http://bit.ly/2mndAzN

 

Meanwhile, Republican leaders are hitting back at criticism from outside groups…

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) on Wednesday hit back against hospital groups that are opposing the GOP’s ObamaCare repeal legislation.

“We understand you change this thing up, there’s a pretty big medical industrial complex in America, and when you touch it, I’ve discovered it touches back,” Walden told reporters.

He added that it’s “sort of shocking” that hospitals are opposing the bill because the measure repeals cuts to a program that helps safety net hospitals called Disproportionate Share payments.  

“That was one of their big asks, so it’s sort of disappointing,” Walden said.

Read more here. http://bit.ly/2mHENhQ  

But other groups are also jumping into the fight. On Wednesday, the American Nurses Association joined doctors and hospitals in ripping the GOP plan. Read more on that here: http://bit.ly/2nggiEV

  

What we’re reading:

Who wins and who loses under GOP health plan (New York Times)

Five ways the GOP health bill would reverse course from the ACA (Kaiser Health News)

ObamaCare repeal guts crucial public health funds (The Washington Post)

 

State by state

GOP health plan’s impact on Medicaid expansion worries Ohio lawmakers (cleveland.com)

What the ObamaCare replacement could mean for Illinois (Chicago Tribune)

 

ICYMI FROM THE HILL:

Cummings: Trump commits to strong push for Medicare drug price negotiation

GOP healthcare critics invited to bowl at White House

Amid federal uncertainty, states confront opioid crisis

Democrats force protests on House floor over healthcare bill

Sen. Collins: ‘I’m not crazy’ about ObamaCare repeal bill

Cruz: House’s ObamaCare repeal bill can’t pass the Senate

Trump to dine with Cruz amid healthcare push

Paul ’emboldened’ by Trump tweeting at him on ObamaCare

DNC chairman: ‘Reckless’ repeal plan shows GOP clueless on health policy

Amash: GOP wants to ‘ram’ ObamaCare plan through Congress

Schumer: ‘Reckless’ to vote on ObamaCare repeal without budget score

White House goes after budget office scoring healthcare bill

And check out The Hill’s Whip List, tracking where Republicans stand on the ObamaCare repeal and replace legislation.