Trump embraces healthcare plan
He says he is 100% behind bill as GOP tries to build support before House vote.
WASHINGTON — President Trump privately told House conservatives he was “1,000%” behind the GOP’s Obamacare repeal plan as they incorporate new Medicaid changes ahead of next week’s vote.
Republicans trying to amass support before the House vote first will amend the bill to draw in more conservatives who said Friday that they would vote yes if the changes are made.
Trump met Friday with members of the conservative Republican Study Committee at the White House and endorsed their ideas to change the Medicaid provision by allowing states to take federal funds as a lumpsum block grant and impose a work requirement for patients receiving care.
“He said he was 1,000% behind us,” said Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), who was among those attending. He noted that in public remarks to the media afterward, Trump said he was 100% behind the bill.
“He really wants to see this pass and wants to see healthcare improved for the country, and he sees this as a big win,” Westerman said.
Rep. Mark Walker (RS.C.), the group’s chairman, said they worked with the administration all night on the proposal.
Republicans are trying to build momentum for the bill before a scheduled vote Thursday.
Another conservative group of House Republicans, the smaller Freedom Caucus, also has pressed for changes, but it is unclear whether their requests are being included. They want to reduce the essential benefits that insurers must provide in their policies.
Although adding conservative elements to the bill may help Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) amass the votes for passage, the strategy risks losing more moderate lawmakers who are worried their constituents will be left without coverage.
Ryan also may end up passing a legislative package that is dead on arrival in the Senate, where Republicans have largely panned the House effort.
“I have serious concerns and reservations about the bill in its current form,” said Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), who does not believe the tax credits, which start at $2,000 for young adults and rise to $4,000 a year for those older than 60, are substantial enough to purchase private health insurance.
“We don’t like sending a bill over to the Senate that’s dead on arrival,” he said. “I’d rather have a better sense of where the Senate is before we send it over.”
The Medicaid changes have been a long-sought conservative goal and would be a substantial reform of the decades-old healthcare program that serves the poor, disabled and elderly.
By block-granting the funding, the states would have more flexibility to design their programs free from federal interference.
For example, Westerman said he would like his state to require Medicaid recipients to start paying a premium or co-pay, so patients “have some skin in the game.”
Healthcare advocates, though, have warned that patients may opt to go without healthcare because they cannot afford the payments or are unable to meet new work requirements.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said that 24 million more Americans would be uninsured if the House bill became law — essentially wiping out the coverage gains made under Obamacare.