Trumpcare revival looking out of reach

No vote set on plan that would allow far higher premiums.

WASHINGTON — Republican leaders prepared Wednesday to send lawmakers home for a two-week recess without voting on their troubled health care bill, as prospects for a quick deal among party factions moved farther out of reach.

Meanwhile, policy experts said the latest GOP health care legislation could mean going back to a time when people with medical problems were charged much higher premiums for individual policies.

Today’s House floor schedule makes no mention of a health care vote.

Conservatives and moderates blamed each other for failure to come to an agreement. Already in jeopardy, the GOP drive to repeal “Obamacare” could get more complicated as weeks go by with no resolution of internal differences.

“I’ve heard nothing of substance at this point that would break the logjam,” said Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., a member of the conservative Freedom Caucus.

A new idea roughed out in negotiations this week between the White House and leaders of the Freedom Caucus illustrates the problems Republicans are having. It would allow states to seek waivers of two requirements in the 2010 Affordable Care Act.

One, known as community rating, forbids insurers from charging higher premiums on account of people’s medical problems or pre-existing conditions. The other is the essential health benefits provision that spells out categories of benefits all insurance plans must cover.

Conservatives who want the federal government out of health care argue that those provisions have driven up premiums and decreased choice. The idea is to put states back in charge of insurance rules.

But health care industry consultant Robert Laszewski said it would also open a “back door” to a system where the sick can get priced out of coverage.

“It’s hard for me to believe that any state would take us back ... when it comes to the protections that consumers have for pre-existing conditions,” Laszewski said.

Republicans say their bill would create a $100 billion fund that states can use for a variety of purposes, including high-risk insurance pools where people with medical problems can get coverage.

But Trish Riley, executive director of the National Academy for State Health Policy, said those didn’t work well in the past. Patients tended to be very sick, and premiums were often too expensive, Riley said.

J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE / AP A drive to resurrect the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act appears to be going nowhere as House Republicans prepared to send lawmakers home for a twoweek recess without a vote scheduled on the legislation.