Dive Brief:
-
As intraparty squabbling over the details of a healthcare reform plan continue, Congressional Republican leadership could push for a vote on ACA repeal and hope for the best, the Wall Street Journal reported.
-
Members of the House Freedom Caucus and Republican Study Committee said they oppose a recently leaked Republican health reform proposal, illustrating factional divisions that could challenge ACA repeal efforts, according to a CNN report.
- Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has voiced support for a more generous healthcare reform plan than those envisioned by some Congressional Republicans and White House staff, the Washington Post reported.
Dive Insight:
Over the past several days, Trump has expressed confidence in the ability of his party to pass comprehensive healthcare reform legislation. However, Congressional Republicans might not be so enthusiastic as they encounter factional divisions, criticism from voters and partisan opposition from Democrats.
Ahead of a scheduled speech before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, Trump held meetings with health insurance executives and the National Governors Association. Under the healthcare reform plan being developed by members of his administration, “costs will come down and I think healthcare will go up,” Trump said during a Monday meeting with payers. During a meeting with state governors held earlier in the day, he said the plan will “get states the flexibility that they need to make the end result really, really good.”
Promises to expand coverage and improve benefits will likely go unfulfilled unless Republicans in Congress adopt significantly different stances on healthcare reform. Analyses of various Republican healthcare reform plans tend to project increases in both premium costs and uninsured rates.
Republican opposition to the plan currently under consideration is split between those committed to fiscal conservatism and those who fear the consequences of voting for legislation that reduces coverage. A handful of House Republicans said they opposed the recently leaked bill because its spending and taxing provisions go too far. Meanwhile, some Republican lawmakers would like to preserve Medicaid expansion, something the leaked bill would do away with.
As for Trump, it seems his preferences for healthcare reform are fluid when it comes to specific policies. Ohio Governor John Kasich, a Republican, recently outlined a healthcare reform approach that contradicted the current House plan during a private meeting with the president and Trump indicated support.
To make matters more complicated for Republicans, public opinion is turning against them. During a congressional recess, several lawmakers were met in their districts by large groups of voters adamantly opposed to repeal of the ACA. The most recent numbers from the Kaiser Health Tracking Poll show that more people currently have a favorable view of the ACA (48%) than an unfavorable view (42%).