Washington—Last month, House Republican leaders unveiled the American Health Care Act (H.R. 1628), which failed to repeal the regulatory architecture of Obamacare that is responsible for the rising cost of health care. Over the past 52 days, conservatives have worked in good faith to elevate and address serious concerns with the AHCA. A draft amendment, the product of weeks-long negotiations by Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) and Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), currently circulating would allow states to opt out of core elements of Obamacare's regulatory architecture. Heritage Action released the following statement from Chief Executive Officer Michael A. Needham:
"Representatives MacArthur and Meadows deserve tremendous credit for their good faith negotiations to improve the bill. Their proposed amendment advances the debate and raises key issues for the Senate to consider as the effort to repeal Obamacare moves forward.
"To be clear, this is not full repeal and it is not what Republicans campaigned on or outlined in the Better Way agenda. The amendment does, however, represent important progress in what has been a disastrous process. Given the extreme divides in the Republican Party, allowing Texas and South Carolina to make different decisions on health insurance regulations than New York and New Jersey may be the only way forward."
Heritage Action will withdraw the current House key vote against the American Health Care Act (H.R. 1628) if the MacArthur-Meadows Amendment, as currently understood and drafted, is adopted.
Related:
Heritage: Freeing States from the Obamacare Insurance Mandates