All but one or two of the approximately three dozen members of the House Freedom Caucus are now on board with the revised bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, and conservatives hope this could help provide enough support to pass the measure this week.
“My understanding is all but two Freedom Caucus members are yesses,” a GOP aide told the Washington Examiner.
Under intense pressure from President Trump and White House officials, Republican leaders are trying to scrape together the 216 GOP votes needed to pass a bill to repeal and replace the law.
With Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, out this week, there are 430 members who could vote, and a majority of that number is 216. That means Republicans can lose as many as 21 GOP votes and still pass it.
Republicans revised an earlier proposal to attract more conservatives, but new provisions allowing states to waive Obamacare mandates have driven away some centrist GOP lawmakers who now threaten to prevent the bill from even making it to the floor for a vote. Others believe many centrists never supported the bill in any form, and may now be forced to declare their opposition publicly, something they haven’t had to do.
Various sources calculate Republicans are now about a half-dozen votes short of the 216 they need for passage, and the leadership is unlikely to call a vote if there is any risk of support collapsing on the House floor, which is more likely when margins are close. That estimate means there are about 26 to 28 Republicans who don’t support the bill right now.
“A lot of your yesses are yesses who don’t want to be yesses,” the aide said, adding that the GOP leadership has sent the signal that, “they think they will get there,” and will ultimately hold a vote this week.
Conservatives said they are hoping Trump will put more pressure on centrist holdouts after leaning hard on the Freedom Caucus after their opposition killed the first effort to repeal and replace Obamacare.
“It’s time for the president to start visiting some moderates,” the aide said.
House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, R-N.C., declined to confirm how many HFC lawmakers are now in favor of the bill.
Meadows told the Washington Examiner the GOP leadership was working with the GOP conference holdouts to help them understand the new language and the provisions addressing pre-existing conditions. Centrist opposition stems in part from a fear that those with pre-existing conditions would be left without healthcare or stuck paying much higher insurance premiums.
The legislation would create high-risk pools for sick consumers and would ensure coverage for those with pre-existing conditions, although they could be charged more if they allow coverage to lapse for more than two months.
“The fact that it addresses pre-existing conditions in three different ways is nothing short of not only keeping our campaign promise but doing so in a variety of ways that gives us plenty to remind people we are keeping our campaign promises,” Meadows said.
