House takes break with health bill undone

Infighting between GOP factions keeps ACA repeal at bay.

The Republican health care bill remained in shambles as House leaders left for a two-week recess.

The Republican health care bill remained in shambles Thursday as House leaders threw up their hands and sent lawmakers home for a two-week recess.

GOP chiefs announced a modest amendment to curb premium increases, but internal divisions still blocked their promised repeal of former President Barack Obama’s law.

“This brings us closer to the final agreement that we all want to achieve,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said of the new amendment at a news briefing meant to project unity.

But in a sentiment echoed by other leaders, Ryan conceded “we have more work to do” over the “days and weeks ahead.” That underscored the longer timeline Republican leaders acknowledge they will need to resolve disputes between conservatives and moderates that blew up the legislation last month.

Ominously, lawmakers from both ends of the party who have opposed the GOP legislation said Thursday’s revision wasn’t enough to sway them. They included Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., who leads the conservative House Freedom Caucus, and moderate GOP Rep. Leonard Lance of New Jersey.

Frustration over the bill’s dismal performance in Congress spilled out during a meeting Ryan and other House leaders attended late Wednesday at the White House, according to several Republicans who had been told about the session, and the fanfare accompanying the amendment introduced Thursday was a direct result of that meeting, the Republicans said.

The new language was aimed at containing premiums by providing an additional $15 billion over a decade to help insurers cover the costs of seriously ill people, said Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., a sponsor of the amendment. Such customers’ expensive care can drive up premiums for all consumers.

The money would be on top of a $100 billion fund already in the GOP bill that states could use for various purposes, including high-risk insurance pools where people with medical problems can get coverage.

A proposal discussed between the White House and leaders of the Freedom Caucus would let states seek federal waivers of two insurance requirements the Obama law established. One forbids insurers from charging higher premiums on account of people’s medical problems or pre-existing conditions. The other spells out categories of benefits, such as hospitalization, that all insurance plans must cover.

EVAN VUCCI / ASSOCIATED PRESS GOP House Reps. Mike Johnson, R-La., (left) and Mark Sanford, R-S.C., arrive at the White House in late March for talks on health care legislation. Republican moderates and conservatives are still far apart on a new bill.