Senate Republican leaders have said they intend to move on from legislation that would repeal and replace portions of Obamacare, but House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows signaled that the Trump administration and other members of Congress aren’t ready to give up the fight.
“We’re not done with that,” the North Carolina Republican said about healthcare efforts, speaking at an event Wednesday on tax reform at the Newseum.
Meadows said he had been working with leadership and with the administration on repeal and replacement efforts “as recently as this morning.”
The event was sponsored by Americans for Prosperity, the conservative political advocacy group funded by David and Charles Koch.
Several votes failed last week that aimed to repeal and replace parts of Obamacare, after Republicans failed to coalesce around a plan and passage to conference fell short by one vote. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who cast the vote that caused the vote to fail, has called for bipartisan talks on healthcare, as have the other GOP defectors, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
Senate leaders from the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee plan to hold bipartisan hearings in September to discuss ways to stabilize the Obamacare exchanges, which are facing double-digit rate increases in premiums in some states, and insurer exits in others.
Despite the stated change of course from the Senate, President Trump and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney have called publicly for the Senate to continue devising a plan.
When a healthcare bill was being debated in the House, Meadows and other Freedom Caucus members helped conservatives come to an agreement by accepting the inclusion of an amendment that would have allowed states to opt out of certain Obamacare insurance mandates. The provision was not included in any of the Senate drafts.
