Rep. Claudia Tenney: I’m leaning toward voting ‘no’ on Obamacare repeal

So when the American Health Care Act fails, President Trump might follow the same script and co-opt one of the Democratic Party’s best ideas – the public option.

The analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which is similar to Britain’s Office for Budget Responsibility, has estimated that 14m more people would be uninsured next years under the legislation than under under the now arrangement – a figure anticipated to rise to 24m by 2026. Some would choose not to have insurance because the bill ends the mandate that people buy insurance or pay a penalty. While premiums have risen, especially in Arizona, and that issue must be addressed, according to the GAO, total costs are lower since passage of the ACA, and states have realized budget savings and revenue gains.

So not only will the ACHA cause more people to be born into poverty in the next three years, it will slash their coverage even more after that, leading to a vicious and totally preventable cycle of poverty. It’s not a return to the health insurance landscape that existed before the ACA’s enactment in 2010, but a voyage into an immeasurably more dismal, and unhealthier, world.

Reforming Medicaid to a per-capita financing system would save the government hundreds of billions of dollars which could arguably be put towards more effective healthcare programs.

Those are, again, CBO estimates. House Republicans were holding an early evening closed-door meeting at which leaders were hoping to firm up support.

“The secretary has the ability to sustain health markets in the interim while we’re transitioning from one system to another, because nobody wants a draconian approach, nobody wants the bottom to fall out”, Roskam said.

“I’m a hard “no” right now, but I can get to a yes”.

Committee Democrats pushed a series of amendments to the bill that were rejected mostly along party line votes. They are keeping the provision that folks can not be declined for coverage due to pre-existing conditions and allowing dependents to stay on coverage until the age of 26. That won’t and shouldn’t happen.

House Speaker Paul Ryan has unveiled his plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

The AHCA would allow insurers to sell less generous plans, paying for a smaller fraction of your actual healthcare expenses than the plans on the market today.

However, those are only benefits if you can afford the coverage. “We have talked about repeal since 2010, I ran on it in 2010 and when people heard that, they heard ‘repeal Obamacare'”.

So the next chapter begins: What might an improved bill include?

It should be noted that many Republicans support the priorities embedded in the GOP bill for reasons grounded in real principles. Building in more incentives for younger, healthier people to buy policies simpler than Obamacare’s wouldn’t only leave more Americans insured. It would lower premiums. Texas has struck deals with the federal government to help reimburse hospitals for the cost of caring for people who don’t have insurance. Yes, probably by adjusting the Medicaid provisions. It’s horrifying that people could even come up with this bill, much less try to shove it through Congress without all the pertinent information (the CBO score did finally come out, and it doesn’t look good).

But remember that if Washington fiddles, Obamacare may burn.

The chairman of the Republican Study Committee on Friday endorsed the ObamaCare repeal-and-replace bill that is speeding toward a vote in the House.

Video: Watch our full interview with Republican U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam, which also includes his thoughts on President Donald Trump’s wiretapping claims, the controversy over his refusal to host traditional town halls, proposed cuts to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, and more.