GOP health bill on the brink hours from House showdown vote

He said that he implores people who are now struggling with addiction issues to get help, telling us it’s never too late.

That sentiment reflected the mood of some anxious and frustrated Republicans, who were unable to muster enough votes in their first major test of governing in the Trump era.

Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s budget director, arrives to meet with congressional Republicans in Washington on Tuesday. “I think that’s been something that he’s been very clear needs to stay in there”, White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters.

Trump, in a message relayed by White House officials, demanded that House Republican leaders vote Friday on a GOP-backed health care bill embraced by the president, placing the legislation on the brink of failure and jeopardizing his vow to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama’s health care law.

LEVEY: They were. And, you know, the big benefit in Obamacare that’s gotten the most attention over the years is the guarantee issue, the idea that you can get health insurance even if you are sick.

PEREZ: Oh, there’s nobody on the Democratic side spiking the football because I have no doubt that they will try again. Just as the nation seems to be riven by an increasing partisan divide, the Republican Party looks riven by a similarly deep divorce: between the interests of the presidency, and those of the party over which he ostensibly presides. “If they get out of a treatment center and they move into a place they can still focus on recovery rather than how can I make my rent payment”.

Cliff Rouse, a 34-year-old banker from Kinston, North Carolina, likewise was willing to give the president he helped elect a chance to make good on his promise. “And I anticipate that we will get there”.

I certainly can’t advance a rational explanation of why Republicans are so committed to pushing through a hastily drafted bill that no one likes.

So Republicans are dealing with their conservative base that still wants the law ripped off the books, but also growing support from others – including some Republicans – who want it preserved.

DAVIS: So the core opposition right now ’cause we should say Democrats are not going to vote for this bill, so this is an entirely Republican problem – the far-right conservatives, hardline conservatives in the House – there’s probably about 30 of them – don’t like the bill because they say it doesn’t do enough to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and it doesn’t do enough to lower premiums. Even as Republican lawmakers prepared to cancel a Thursday vote on the legislation, Trump maintained that the bill still had a chance to pass the House. It has not been reported out. It’s up to President Trump. Democrats stood fast against it, as everyone knew they would. Asked who was to blame if the legislation failed, he didn’t single anyone out.

DAVIS:.On the on the substance of it, this is the speaker’s brainchild.

“This bill would have taken away coverage from nearly two million Floridians – many seniors – and force many Floridians to pay thousands more for coverage”.

One big change in the GOP’s current bill would immediately shut off federal money to allow any more states to expand Medicaid eligibility under the ACA, commonly known as Obamacare.

The Republican-backed replacement to the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, would roll back the Medicaid expansion, something both of Ohio’s US senators and Gov. John Kasich have expressed concern about – especially for those with addiction issues or mental illness. So his reputation is on the line.

“Sometimes you’re playing fantasy football and sometimes you’re in the real game”, Barton said. And they could impose work requirements on able-bodied adults. “Democrats and some of these other members are going to come crawling back at some point”.

MCEVERS: So we’re – we hear that President Trump wants to force a vote.

Boehner said last month that while Republicans would fix some problems of Obama’s law, a repeal and replacement is “not going to happen”. “Everybody’s going to be taken care of much better than they’re taken care of now”.

“You walked into the voting booth”.

On Thursday, the president met with the hard-line House Freedom Caucus and the moderate Tuesday Group at the White House – but the lawmakers returned to Capitol Hill without a deal.

The decisions facing the administration are, in essence, a sequel to an executive order the president issued his first night in office, when he directed federal agencies to ease the regulatory burden that the ACA has placed on consumers, the health-care industry and health-care providers.