House conservatives appear ready to walk away from a revived proposal to repeal and replace Obamacare after complaining that the latest plan was being watered down to appeal to more moderate House Republicans.
Sources with the House Freedom Caucus told the Washington Examiner the fledgling deal would fall apart if the terms of the agreement were modified, and that those modifications appear to have occurred in a late night meeting in the Capitol on Tuesday.
Conservative lawmakers had that reaction even as the White House was saying that talks were continuing. One White House official told reporters there was a sense that both sides were still getting closer to a deal.
Vice President Mike Pence and other Trump administration officials presented a new plan Tuesday night that greatly narrowed the ability of states to use waivers to escape many of the Obamacare mandates, a change supported by HFC members. Because of the change, hopes for a pre-recess vote happening this week appear to be thwarted.
“There is not momentum at this point,” Mike Needham, chief executive officer of the conservative lobbying group Heritage Action for America, told reporters Wednesday.
Conservatives told the Washington Examiner they could deliver enough votes to pass the bill if it stuck to the language put forward Monday night by Pence and other Trump officials. That would have let states apply for waivers from Obamacare’s essential health benefits as well as the community rating system, which equalizes insurance costs for those with pre-existing conditions.
But by Tuesday, pushback from less conservative House Republicans prompted a narrowing of that language, so that states could only apply for waivers for the essential health benefits and age rating. That left out the community rating system that conservatives believe is driving up the cost of premiums.
Needham said the new plan is “a nonstarter” with members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, who comprise the bulk of the opposition to a repeal and replace bill that has stalled in the House.
Needham said conservatives should abandon efforts to vote on anything this week. Lawmakers, particularly moderates, should go home for the two-week recess, “take a deep breath,” and reconsider the proposal backed by conservatives.
Needham blamed moderate members of the House Tuesday Group, arguing they want to keep Obamacare in place despite campaigning to repeal it.
He didn’t rule out Heritage Action taking out ads over the upcoming recess in the districts of moderate Republicans. Needham also put blame and pressure on GOP leadership, who he suggested played a major role in watering down the language to appeal to moderates.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and other GOP leaders have appeared to largely stay out of the negotiations, although House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. was present at the meeting Tuesday night.
