Maryland's lone Republican in Washington is a no on his party's health care reforms unless it gets some big changes.
"I was a big Trump supporter, I voted for Trump, but I'm not yet with this bill because we don't have the protections that will lower premiums," Cockeysville Rep. Andy Harris told C4 Thursday.
Harris, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, says the American Health Care Act maintains in spirit the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate and essential health benefits. Harris said the latter is driving skyrocketing insurance premiums. Insurers are required to offer coverage for checkups, prescriptions, maternity and mental health, among other things.
"We're just trying to figure out how we get that added into the bill because without that in the bill they don't have a majority of freedom caucus votes, they can't possibly pass it," Harris said.
Later Thursday, the Freedom Caucus deadlocked with the White House after they failed to extract the changes they wanted made.
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15 comments:
Charge the MEDICAID GROUP $250 yr each plus 5% yr increase this way everyone is paying including the "Poor".
Stick to your guns, Andy!
Guess he can't handle the pressure
You have to start somewhere to clean up the mess left behind
Omg Andy Harris finally stood up to Ryan and trump!
Since support was a campaign promise, I didn't know I had to call to lobby for your support.
Good this is a bad replacement and until a good plan for all comes that can control some costs and gets the mandate out of paying a penalty for not having it is gone, keep voting No!
I'm OK with his position....although it differs a bit from what will actually benefit the people!
Adding an age tax makes this version worse!
Keeping subsidies in any form masks the real problem - insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies! Don't mask the increasing costs - increase the competition, reduce the insurers profits - multi-million dollar salaries for a mandated product.....
Allowing insurance companies to participate in the health care decision process is wrong - let the Doctors make the medical decisions!
This doesn't increase competition - a key to reducing costs...let folks buy insurance and see physicians across state lines - make them earn our business!
Getting rid of defined conditions like mental illness as part of removing the "essential benefits" hurts the people that need it most.
This bill does not contain the changes I expected to see - this is more of the same....insurance, pharma, and lawyers (not elected representatives) working on legislation is what got us in to this mess in the first place!
HOGAN is Against it R I N O
I like Andy Harris, I think over all he supports Trump on the issues. As a former surgeon and doctor, I'm sure he knows very well how the healthcare system works. Obama care needs to go, but if Harris has reservations about the revised healthcare bill, I think we need to hear him out. I like Trump, and feel he may be one of our best presidents. I just think in the rush to get rid of Obama care, they are trying to rush this new plan through.
8:47 this is not Trump's bill this is Ryan's bill. trump is just trying to put an end to it. And yes good for Andy for sticking to what needs to be done.
Nice to see someone is standing up for the people and not Ryan and his cronyism.
When the top half of my premiums go to pay the paychecks of 10,000 federal Administrators and all of Big Pharma's lobbyists, I will never see a lower premium payment and neither will you.
Make that go away and leave us to shop up our own insurance policies across state lines, and you and I will see our rates plummet.
Right, Andy?
I don't care who bill it is only that it is better then obamacare. Pass the bill and then amend! The CBO is saying premiums will go down 10%. That is better then nothing. Obama the liar said households would see a $2500 decrease. We saw a triple increase. Even a 10% reduction would be a big help for the time being.
9:02 Your comment is the Best I've heard!
Along with buying across sstate lines, I would like to see co-op's formed to allow small groups to join together to have a larger buying group. More people in a plan will be very competitive.
I'm very disappointed with this bill doomed for failure. Now, we are stuck with Obama Care. Wait about 6 months for that to implode and no-one will have health care. What then?
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