Pence presents new healthcare offer

US Vice President Mike Pence has presented an offer to the conservative House Freedom Caucus as they seek to revive a health bill to replace Obamacare, a media report said.

Pence, along with other White House officials, presented the idea on Monday night to the Freedom Caucus to allow states to choose to apply for waivers to repeal two Obamacare or Affordable Care Act regulations that conservatives argue are driving up premiums, The Hill magazine reported on Tuesday.

The Freedom Caucus is made up of several dozen Republican members of Congress who exert their influence as a voting bloc with an aim to push legislations in a more conservative direction.

 

The two regulations detail Obamacare's essential health benefits, which mandate health services that insurers must cover, and "community rating", which prevents insurers from charging sick people higher premiums.

Conservatives had previously called for the bill to repeal those regulations outright, but the deal now being discussed would give states a choice by allowing them to apply for a waiver from the federal government.

Freedom Caucus members expressed openness to the proposal, but cautioned that they need to review the legislative text, which they hoped would be available within the next 24 hours.

On March 24, Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan pulled the Republican health care bill from consideration after it became clear that it did not have enough votes to pass the legislation, in part because of near-unified opposition from the Freedom Caucus, reports The Hill magazine.

Multiple lawmakers said the White House is hoping to have a vote as soon as this week, though Representative Mark Meadows, the Freedom Caucus chairman, cautioned against setting "artificial" deadlines.

He said that repeal of the two regulations in question would provide enough "yes" votes to pass the bill, but cautioned that the Freedom Caucus needs to review the legislative language and make sure it is adequate.

--IANS

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