Republican leaders haven’t been able to bring on board influential conservative groups to support a bill that would partially repeal and replace Obamacare.
Heritage Action announced it would key vote against the bill on Tuesday, shortly after the conservative Club for Growth started a digital ad campaign pushing moderate and vulnerable GOP lawmakers to oppose it.
The moves come about 12 hours after GOP leadership outlined changes to the bill aimed to entice conservatives. The changes include adding work requirements to Medicaid and giving states the option to choose block grant federal funding or per capita caps.
While the changes brought some House conservative lawmakers on board, the groups said the changes weren’t enough to persuade them.
Mike Needham, CEO of Heritage Action, the political arm of the Heritage Foundation, tweeted that the Republican bill would keep Obamacare’s insurance regulations in place.
Club for Growth, which has taken to calling the bill “RyanCare,” had the same problem.
“Republicans promised a bill that would stop Obamacare’s taxes and mandates, and replace them with free-market reforms that will increase health insurance competition and drive down costs,” President David McIntosh said. “RyanCare fails on those counts.”
Club for Growth is running an advertising campaign costing at least $500,000 against 10 GOP members, all moderates or vulnerable in their next elections: Leonard Lance and Tom MacArthur of New Jersey, Rob Wittman of Virginia, John Katko of New York, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, Darrell Issa of California, and Don Bacon, R-Neb.
Some of the lawmakers have expressed opposition to the bill, including Katko and Ros-Lehtinen.
Heritage and Club for Growth’s announcements came shortly after President Trump went to Capitol Hill to convince wary Republicans to get on board.
Trump hinted that Republicans could lose their seats if they voted against the bill, but some conservatives are still opposed to it.
“The president’s great. The bill is still bad,” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said after the meeting.
