House members who broke ranks with the Republican party and voted against the American Health Care Act (AHCA), which passed last week by a slim margin, cited concerns the plan to replace Obamacare would not lower costs for consumers and would leave too many uninsured.
The passage in the House of a health care plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act was considered a victory for President Donald Trump, though its fate in the Senate remains uncertain.
U.S. Reps. Barbara Comstock (R-VA), Charlie Dent (R-PA), Dan Donovan (R-NY), Will Hurd (R-TX), Leonard Lance (R-NJ) and Michael Turner (R-OH) were among House Republicans who opposed the legislation. The lawmakers raised concerns about the bill’s uncertainties, its insufficient protections for pre-existing conditions and its impact on the nation’s most vulnerable.
“My goals on health care reform are to provide patient-centered reforms that provide better access to high quality, affordable care and covers preexisting conditions without lifetime limits,” Comstock said. “I did not support the AHCA (on Thursday) because of the many uncertainties in achieving those goals.”
Lawmakers who voted against the AHCA have acknowledged a health care system that is broken in many ways.
“We have seen over the past year more bad news of skyrocketing premiums, rising deductibles and fewer choices for millions of American families,” Comstock said. “The status quo is unsustainable and we need to find real solutions for the American people.”
Some Republicans, including Turner and Dent, said they could not support an ACA replacement that leaves vulnerable citizens with inadequate health coverage.
“I cannot support a health plan to replace Obamacare that puts my constituents’ health benefits at risk,” Turner said. “I have repeatedly voiced my concerns to the White House and House leadership,” Turner said. “I will continue to work with them and my colleagues in a bipartisan effort to enact health care reforms that ensure patients have affordable access to the insurance coverage they need.”
The Congressional Budget Office said an earlier Republican bill to replace Obamacare, which failed to get a vote in March, would cause 24 million Americans to lose their health care coverage.
“I am disappointed that the House passed this bill, which I believe will increase health insurance costs — particularly for low-to-moderate income Americans — increase the number of uninsured by up to as many as 24 million people, and undermine important protections for those living with pre-existing conditions,” Dent said.
Like many House members, Lance said, he pledged to support reforming ACA with a plan that lowers premiums, drives down health care costs, encourages competition and gives all Americans access to quality, affordable health insurance.
“I campaigned on a plan that protects those with pre-existing conditions and provides a stable transition for those forced into Obamacare at no fault of their own,” Lance said. “And I ran on the promise of not simply repealing Obamacare and returning to the status quo, but offering something better. The House-passed bill doesn’t achieve these goals.”
Notably absent from the AHCA are certain key provisions, such as the ability to purchase health policies across state lines, small business pooling and medical malpractice reform.
In Hurd’s view, the only meaningful metric when it comes to health care is access to quality, affordable care — not just health insurance.
“While the goal of Obamacare was to make health care more accessible and more affordable, it has done just the opposite,” Hurd said. “Likewise, while the goal of the American Health Care Act was to combat the skyrocketing premiums and outrageous deductibles millions of Americans face, it too falls short.”
AHCA in its current form does not address the concerns of many of the constituents in Hurd’s district in Texas, including adequate protections for those with pre-existing conditions and the challenges faced by rural health care providers.
“I am unable to turn my back on these vulnerable populations because I believe we can and must do better for the American people,” Hurd said.
Similarly, Donovan said the bill failed to address the needs of the 740,000 New York City residents that he represents.
“As written, the AHCA would impose a tax hike on city residents to fund tax cuts elsewhere in the state,” Donovan said. “My constituents would also be unable to use the bill’s tax credits because of New York’s rules on insurance coverage. The relief needed for local families is not in this bill. The plan would cost seniors more for health care at a time in their lives when incomes are limited and they need health care the most.”
Republicans who voiced their opposition to the AHCA are counting on the Senate to improve the legislation in the coming weeks.
“It is my hope that cooler heads will prevail in the Senate and that they will produce a better bill that is focused on improving health care for all Americans rather than the haphazardly constructed and hastily considered House bill,” Dent said.
Lance added that the bill faces substantial changes in the U.S. Senate, “further guaranteeing that the final product will have to be a compromise between the two chambers.”