Another Republican Healthcare Plan That Yanks Medical Coverage From Those Who Need It Most (VIDEOS)

House Republicans are once again back at the drawing board in an effort to dismantle Obamacare.

Despite their failure to reach a compromise last month, a coalition of centrists led by Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) and conservatives led by Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) may be nearing a deal.

The latest proposal revives the American Health Care Act (AHCA) and allows states to offer fewer protections in an effort to lower premiums.

The AHCA received bipartisan criticism upon its unveiling. Democrats universally opposed it. Conservative Republicans – who felt that it didn’t strip away enough of Obamacare – also disliked it, while centrist Republicans were worried that hiking insurance premiums and leaving some 15 to 20 million people without health insurance might be a bad idea.

The new bill is essentially the same as the old one. As Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.) explained last week:

“It’s not really a new bill — it’s the same fundamental bill, but a few pretty significant amendments to it … It just allows states to opt out of some of the [regulations] to bring down price. And so those are two of the big pieces. A couple little pieces on the regulatory framework, and then I think we can all get to yes.”

Part of the push to renew the effort to repeal and replace Obamacare is coming from the White House. As President Donald Trump nears the end of his first 100 days, he’s feeling pressured to deliver on one of his signature campaign promises. Speaking on Thursday, Trump said:

“We’re doing very well on healthcare. We will see what happens, but this is a great bill. There’s a great plan, and this will be great healthcare. It is evolving.”

If the amended bill does pass, at least some of the protections guaranteed by Obamacare might remain. In a Facebook post last week, MacArthur said:

“This amendment will make coverage of pre-existing conditions sacrosanct for all Americans and ensures essential health benefits remains the federal standard. … NO STATE, under ANY circumstances, may ever obtain a waiver for pre-existing condition protections, prohibition on gender discrimination, prohibition on guaranteed issue and renewability, or protection of dependents up to age 26.”

It’s hard to say how serious the new amendment is. At this point, it’s just a list of bullet points and an impact statement. Many GOP centrists are still not on board with the amendment proposal. And while Trump suggested a vote might occur in the coming week, there’s no such vote currently scheduled in the House. According to Politico:

“Multiple House GOP insiders say the White House doesn’t understand how Congress works, and just because Trump officials say there will be a vote next week doesn’t make it so.”

Check out this video for more information on how Trump is pressuring Congress to pass his Obamacare repeal before his first 100 days are up:

Image from Meme Generator

Featured image via YouTube video.