House leadership will reportedly hold off voting on the amended American Health Care Act (AHCA) Friday, Reuters reports.
A vote on health care reform was originally expected Friday as the White House kept steady pressure on lawmakers to repeal Obamacare by the end of the week. The administration was hoping for a vote that day because Saturday marks President Donald Trump’s 100th day in office. (RELATED: Republicans Look Closer Than Ever To Repealing Obamacare)
Leadership realized Thursday evening they did not have enough votes from moderate Republicans to put the bill up for a vote Friday.
“We won’t vote this week,” a House Republican aide told reporters. Giving no specific time frame, the aide added, “We’ll call a vote when we have the votes.”
Tuesday Group leader Rep. Tom MacArthur of New Jersey and House Freedom Caucus (HFC) Chairman Mark Meadows struck a deal Wednesday, proposing amendments to the AHCA that would allow conservatives to throw their support behind the measure.
The amended version of the AHCA grants states the ability to seek waivers from some required provisions under Obamacare. One of the waivers deals with the provision that requires insures to charge patients with pre-existing conditions the same rate as healthy consumers. Others deal with mandated health benefits like maternity care.
“Protections for those with pre-existing conditions without contingency, and affordable access to coverage for every American, remain my priorities for advancing healthcare reform, and this bill does not satisfy those benchmarks for me,” moderate Republican Rep. Ryan Costello of Pennsylvania said in a statement Thursday evening.
Trump and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan continue to face some significant obstacles in making good on their promise to overhaul former President Barack Obama’s landmark health care legislation. The process was derailed the first time in March for a number of reasons, including opposition from Democrats and conservative Republicans and differences in policy implementation.
The same inter-Party divisions, along with Democratic opposition, appear to be plaguing the effort this go around. Whatever version of health care reform makes its way through the House will also have to make its way through the Senate.
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