Hickenlooper, Gardner chat about health care bill

washington» It has been a couple months since Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper last spoke to Republican U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner about health care.

But with Gardner still publicly undecided about a Senate health care bill, the Colorado governor vowed at a news conference Tuesday to personally reach out to the Colorado senator in an effort to get him to oppose the legislation.

“Trust me, by hook or by crook I will get a hold of him before there’s any vote. I’ll go camp out on his doorstep if I have to,” he said.

Hickenlooper didn’t have to wait long, however.

Almost immediately after he made his vow at the National Press Club — in an event broadcast by C-SPAN — Hickenlooper received a phone call from Gardner, according to comments provided by Hickenlooper to The New York Times.

The governor said he encouraged Gardner to do more to ensure that any federal legislation does not cause a loss in insurance coverage, echoing what he said at the news conference.

“He is someone who is, you know, a very conservative Republican,” Hickenlooper said. “But he also doesn’t think being a conservative Republican means putting hundreds people of thousands at risk” of losing their health insurance.

That said, Hickenlooper told The New York Times that his comments at the National Press Club were not meant to insinuate that Gardner was avoiding him.

Aides to Hickenlooper and Gardner confirmed the account.

The event that began the back-and-forth was a joint appearance Hickenlooper made with Gov. John Kasich at the National Press Club in which the two governors — one Republican, one Democrat — reiterated their opposition to the Republican health care proposal.

The pair has been on a barnstorming tour in recent weeks, appearing on CNN and co-authoring an essay.

Their central message is that Congress should ditch its current plan to undo the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, and come together and write a new bipartisan bill for health care reform.

“I would call on Democrat senators to hold a press conference and to state that they are willing to sit and work and constructively engage with Republicans in coming up with a sustainable solution,” said Kasich, one of many Republicans who lost to President Donald Trump last year during the GOP primary.