“It’s A Train Wreck”: Conservative Groups Savage GOP Healthcare Plan
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Mar 7, 2017
As discussed earlier, the Obamacare repeal and replace effort, derisively called by some either “Obamacare Lite”, “RyanCare”, “ObamaCare 2.0″, and even Trumpcare”. is running into major hurdles as prominent consevative groups threaten to derail Trump’s broader economic agenda.
While The Trump administration on Tuesday formally backed the House GOP’s plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare, early hurdles emerged after tea partiers Rand Paul and Mike Lee both said that the proposed plan will not pass because it is too similar to the original healthcare law, while GOP senator Roy Blunt said that the plan as it stands may not be able to get the support needed to pass the Senate. “What I don’t like is, it may not be a plan that gets a majority votes and let’s us move on. Because, we can’t stay where we are with the plan we’ve got now,” Blunt said on KMBZ, as first reported by CNN.
The two are just the tip of the iceberg.
As The Hill writes, outside conservative groups on Tuesday blasted House Republicans’ newly unveiled healthcare proposal, saying it doesn’t live up to the GOP’s promise of fully repealing ObamaCare. Here are some of the more prominent objectors:
The Club for Growth dubbed the proposal “RyanCare” and threatened to record names of Republicans who vote for the bill unless it includes significant changes.
Americans for Prosperity/Freedom Partners called the plan “Obamacare 2.0”
The Cato Institute called the plan a “TrainWreck”
Heritage Action, FreedomWorks and the Koch brothers-backed Americans for Prosperity, a group aligned with billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch, also issued scathing statements highly critical of the “American Health Care Act,” which was released on Monday.
FreedomWorks panned the GOP bill as “ObamaCare-Lite,” while AFP labeled it “ObamaCare 2.0.” “This is simply not a full repeal of ObamaCare. It falls far short of the promises Republicans made to the American people in four consecutive federal elections,” AFP President Tim Phillips said in a phone interview Tuesday. “The proposed legislation trades one form of government subsidy for another government subsidy, and doesn’t roll back the mandate of ObamaCare. It’s a poor first attempt.”
In short, conservatives don’t like the bill in its current form, and as the Hill puts it, “the seemingly coordinated statements — all released within an hour of each other — from these four big-money, influential conservative groups create a huge headache for Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and the two authors of the House bill: Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas).”
Assuming all members vote and all Democrats vote no, it would take 22 House GOP defections to kill the bill. Just three Republican votes could sink the legislation in the Senate.
As noted above, two Tea Party darlings, Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), have already come out against the GOP plan, as have former House Freedom Caucus Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and conservative Reps. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) and Dave Brat (R-Va.). As we explained yesterday, many on the right are objecting to the plan’s refundable tax credits, which would replace ObamaCare insurance subsidies.
The Rest…HERE
