Just hours after the Senate released its long-awaited healthcare bill, Republican governors who flexed their muscle during debate over the future of Obamacare are expressing skepticism toward the proposal.
As the House and Senate have worked over the last six months to draft a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, some GOP governors have urged lawmakers to Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion and protect low-income, sick patients and issued their own recommendations to their fellow Republicans.
But while the Senate’s bill retains several of Obamacare’s more popular provisions, some governors are warning the legislation falls short of their expectations.
“I have deep concerns with details in the U.S. Senate’s plan to fix America’s health care system and the resources needed to help our most vulnerable, including those who are dealing with drug addiction, mental illness and chronic health problems and have nowhere else to turn,” Ohio Gov. Kasich said in a statement.
“Sustainable solutions to the many complex problems facing our healthcare system will never be solved with a one-party approach that’s developed behind closed doors, without public discussion and input.”
The House passed a plan, called the American Health Care Act, partially repealing Obamacare in May, and GOP senators began working on their own proposal after that.
But Democrats knocked their Republican counterparts for drafting their proposal in secret and out of the public’s view.
Even some Republicans admitted they, too, hadn’t seen the legislation as recently as this morning.
Kasich said he believes GOP senators need to work with their Democratic colleagues to fix Obamacare’s flaws.
“I’m encouraging senators to step back and take a good, hard look at this important issue – and to reach across the aisle in working toward solutions,” the Ohio governor said. “That’s the only way to address the flaws of Obamacare that we can all agree need to be fixed.”
Republican Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts echoed Kasich’s sentiments on the Senate’s plan, and a spokeswoman for the governor said the health care bill would cause Massachusetts to lose money.
“Since Washington has started debating reforms to the health care law, Governor Baker has been clear that any changes must preserve our ability to provide quality healthcare coverage in Massachusetts and allow flexibility to responsibly manage programs like Medicaid—and the administration is concerned that upon first review, this version falls short and will result in significant funding losses for our state,” Lizzy Guyton, a spokeswoman for Baker, said.
“Governor Baker will keep working with other governors, the congressional delegation and federal officials to advocate for solutions that work for Massachusetts, including protecting our waiver to support behavioral health and fighting the opioid epidemic and funding for Planned Parenthood,” she continued.
The Senate’s bill, like the proposal passed by the House, defunds Planned Parenthood for one year.
Though the task of drafting a proposal repealing and replacing Obamacare falls to Congress, Republican governors vowed to remain engaged in discussions.
Last month, Kasich led a group of a dozen governors in issuing recommendations to the Senate which included preservation of Medicaid expansion.
Included in that group was Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, who is still reviewing the bill to determine the impacts on the state’s insurance markets, Medicaid program and Healthy Michigan Plan, the state’s Medicaid expansion.
“Gov. Snyder continues to believe the Healthy Michigan Plan has had a positive effect on our state and wants to be sure that quality, affordable health care remains available for all Michiganders,” Ari Adler, spokesman for Snyder, said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas said he, too, is still looking over the bill and plans to discuss the legislation with Arkansas senators.
“I have started reviewing the Senate bill, but a great deal more time and thought is required before we understand the changes completely,” he said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “I look forward to discussing the proposal with Senator Boozman and Senator Cotton. There are significant positive changes in the Senate bill, including increased flexibility for the states, but I will need more analysis on potential cost impacts on Arkansas.”
