Rep. Chris Collins told reporters Wednesday that he and other moderate Republicans did not know that the White House would be talking to conservatives about repealing an Obamacare mandate that shields the sickest customers from paying higher premiums than healthier customers.
During a meeting between eight centrists and the White House Monday, the discussions focused on including an amendment allowing states to seek a waiver from the Department of Health and Human Services to make changes to the 10 essential health benefits that Obamacare requires, the New York Republican said.
“We were OK with that,” he said. “We thought this would satisfy the House Freedom Caucus and get us the votes we need.
He said he later learned that a provision called “community rating” was discussed for repeal with the House Freedom Caucus, which has opposed the American Health Care Act, saying it should go further in repealing Obamacare. Rep. Mark Meadows of South Carolina, the group’s chairman, told reporters Monday that the community ratings provision was on the table.
When asked about the various messages about the bill, Meadows replied, “I don’t believe they did that. I think there could be misunderstandings in anything you have when you have this many discussions.”
“We did not discuss the community rating,” Collins said.
Conservatives are now indicating that the bill has become too watered down and that they are ready to walk away from the proposal. “I went from pessimistic two weeks ago to being somewhat hopeful on Monday to now being pessimistic again,” Collins said of the GOP’s inability to reach a deal on healthcare. He initially had hoped the House could vote on the bill as early as Thursday, he said.
House Speaker Paul Ryan indicated during a press conference that the bill would not be taken up this week, and House Majority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., also said it was “very unlikely.” The House is set to recess for two weeks on Thursday.
When asked about whether Republicans would be able to reach a deal on healthcare, Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, replied, “Cautiously optimistic may be a little strong.”
“I thought this would be the easiest thing to do,” he said. “I’m surprised we’ve been this incompetent.”
Robert King contributed to this story.
