Washington—This afternoon, the House passed an amended version of the American Health Care Act (H.R. 1628), 217 to 213. Heritage Action key voted against the original version of the bill, which failed to repeal the regulatory architecture of Obamacare that is responsible for the rising cost of health care. Last month, Heritage Action withdrew its key vote after House Republican leaders accepted the MacArthur-Meadows Amendment, which 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:
"Today's vote ensures the Obamacare repeal effort can continue to move forward. Surely more must be done in the Senate, but the months-long negotiations in the House identified many of the key issues for senators to tackle. Representatives MacArthur and Meadows deserve tremendous credit for their good faith effort to address Obamacare's regulatory architecture.
"There is no doubt the Republican Party is divided in fundamental ways, but for the years-long repeal effort to be successful, the Senate will have to demonstrate a level of cohesion and commitment that eluded House leaders. The process up until now has been disastrous, but we have confidence the bill can be improved upon in the Senate."