WASHINGTON — The general public relations campaign to market a healthcare intend to replace ObamaCare began in earnest Tuesday with top House GOP authors saying the new plan was aimed at clearing up “a pretty big wreck.”
The GOP-led Congress is already facing revolt from conservatives who believe the replacement plan doesn't go far enough to finish government's intrusion into healthcare.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) dubbed it “ObamaCare Lite” and Freedom Caucus member Rep. Justin Amash slammed the new plan as “ObamaCare 2.0.”
But the GOP leaders of these two House committees that will occupy the balance Wednesday said the brand new “American Health Care Act” comes down to a complete overhaul from the entitlement program.
“This is ObamaCare gone,” said Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.
Brady and Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) held a joint press conference following the two leaders released the healthcare bill Monday evening -without any cost estimates.
Their committees will start hearings around the legislation Wednesday morning.
The GOP leaders argue ObamaCare is “collapsing” now with a lot of insurers pulling out of this marketplace, which drives down competition and drives up costs.
Advocates of ObamaCare say the product is working, especially in states that implemented it fully with Medicaid expansion and state-sponsored healthcare exchanges.
“We've reached the scene of the pretty big wreck and we're trying to cleanup the mess,” Walden told reporters.
“And when we don't intercede now fewer individuals will have access to insurance – period. We aren't kicking anybody off Medicaid that's on it today. You can read that within the bill pretty clearly. We will devolve power back to america – and hopefully expand use of affordable insurance that people can actually take advantage of.”
The GOP plan would repeal the individual mandate, taxes linked to ObamaCare, restrict Medicaid's expansion after 2021 and de-fund Planned Parenthood.
The plan would issue tax credits of $2,000 for younger individuals up to $14,000 for families to buy insurance.
The Trump Administration formally backed the GOP-plan Tuesday. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price wrote instructions to committee leadership “on behalf from the Trump Administration” to spell out its support.
“Your proposals represent an essential initial step and important foundation fulfilling our offers to the United states citizens,” Price wrote.
But quickly, probably the most conservative groups arrived on the scene against the plan and urged Republicans to reject it: The Club for Growth, Heritage Action, Freedom Partners, Tea Party Patriots and Americans for Prosperity.
Club for Growth president David McIntosh dubbed the program “RyanCare” for House Speaker Paul Ryan and said when the plan continues to be is — a “warmed-over substitute for government-run health care” – the group will issue a “key vote” against it, meaning Republicans who back the plan will have their conservative scorecard ranking diminished.
Republicans can't afford a large-scale revolt.
There's 237 GOP members of the home and 193 Democrats, with five vacancies. With the current-make up, Republicans can lose only 21 members in the home to achieve the 216 votes required for passage, assuming no Democrats sign up.
The margin is even narrower within the Senate, where Republicans hold a slim 52-seat majority.
President Trump said a few of the provisions conservatives want, such selling health insurance across state lines, will exist in the future.
“Don't worry,” he tweeted Tuesday, “Getting rid of state lines, which will promote competition, will be in phase 2 & 3 of healthcare rollout.”
He added he’s also “working on the new system” to reduce drug costs.
“Pricing for the American people will come way down,” he tweeted.
It's unclear how many Americans might lose insurance under the GOP repeal plan and just how much the plan will definitely cost. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has yet to release its findings around the new legislation.
The GOP plan would repeal the individual mandate, taxes associated with ObamaCare, restrict Medicaid's expansion after 2021 and de-fund Planned Parenthood.
The plan would issue age-based tax credits ranging from $2,000 for individuals under 30 to as much as $4,000 for those over 60 years old to buy insurance. The full tax credit could be readily available for individuals making to $75,000 ($150,000 for married couples filing taxes jointly).
To urge Americans to buy coverage, insurance companies could boost premiums by 30 percent for those who let their insurance lapse.
Popular consumer protections could be retained, for example covering people with pre-existing conditions and insuring children as much as age 26 on their parents’ plans.
