House Republicans are advancing Obamacare repeal efforts this week with multiple member meetings to discuss key elements of a replacement plan, even as conservatives increasingly demand a quick vote on repealing the law.
Majority Whip Steve Scalise is holding three meetings with rank-and-file members this week, two on Tuesday afternoon and one on Thursday afternoon, to discuss elements they want to include in a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Among the topics discussed will be tax-free savings accounts, Medicaid reforms and tax credits to buy private coverage.
A Republican conference meeting will be held Thursday morning to detail what will be in a replacement plan, led by Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady and Energy and Commerce Chairman Greg Walden.
House Republican leaders insisted Tuesday they won’t unduly rush Obamacare repeal and replace, but that they will craft a bill through the markup committee process as they have promised.
“We’re on track,” Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers told reporters. “Our committees are going to work on tax credits, Medicaid.”
“This bill is actually being worked on by all our committees of jurisdiction, in public view,” Scalise said. “Committees will be taking legislation and having votes and marking it up.”
House Speaker Paul Ryan insisted Tuesday that he remains committed to crafting the legislation through markups in two key House committees. But he is getting increasing pushback from the Freedom Caucus, a group of 40-plus conservative members who are frustrated at the delays in voting to repeal the healthcare law they have opposed for so long.
The Freedom Caucus issued a statement Tuesday morning asking leadership to hold an immediate vote on a repeal measure the House passed last year. But Ryan wants to hold a vote by the end of March or so on a plan that also replaces parts of the law.
Ryan said Obamacare repeal is about more than just getting rid of the law. It’s also about “building a stronger healthcare system for the country,” he said.
Ryan and other Republican congressional leaders are caught amid competing demands and priorities from the rank and file. While House conservatives want a fast repeal vote, many Senate Republicans have insisted on replacing the law at the same time.
