Plans to resurrect the AHCA in order to help President Trump fulfill his promise to gut Obamacare in his first 100 days have, unsurprisingly, collapsed. From the New York Times:
[S]eesawing commitments and the reservations from numerous lawmakers throughout Thursday laid bare the difficulty that Republican leaders faced in trying to push through a repeal bill. While revisions to their bill won over conservative hard-liners in the Freedom Caucus this week, those same changes threatened to drive away other members, even some who supported the first version.
A senior House aide said late Thursday that there would not be a vote on the health bill this week. At least 18 House Republicans oppose the latest version of the bill, the American Health Care Act, and leaders can lose no more than 22 to win passage if all members vote.
Democratic leaders had said they would oppose any stopgap measure to avoid a government shutdown if Republicans pushed for another AHCA vote on Friday or Saturday.
Among the major changes to the AHCA that have been proposed since its initial failure to win right-wing votes have been an amendment from Rep. Tom MacArthur that would allow states to waive Obamacare’s essential health benefits and parts of its community rating rules, too, if those states participate in high-risk pools, offer subsidies for individuals with preexisting conditions, or otherwise attempt to “stabilize” premiums. The amendment, hilariously, would have also exempted members of Congress from the impact of its changes. No, really! After Vox’s Sarah Kliff reported this, MacArthur promised to plug that loophole.
For the time being, the AHCA remains a no-go. GOP leaders are saying a vote will happen sometime in the future. Or, as Rep. Pete Sessions, chairman of the House Rules Committee, put it: The bill “will find its time.”
