Two Alabama Congressmen have stirred the pot by standing against the GOP’s new Obamacare replacement plan, and it seems to have made them a political target by groups backing House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Representatives Gary Palmer and Mo Brooks are among 30 U.S. Congressmen who have resisted supporting the American Health Care Act. It’s a stance that has landed them on a list of districts that will soon be flooded with robocalls placed by the American Action Network.
“After eight years of suffering under Obamacare, conservatives are close to repealing and replacing Obamacare with President Trump and Speaker Ryan’s reforms to lower costs, eliminate job destroying mandates, and put patients and doctors in charge of health care instead of Washington bureaucrats,” the robocall script says. “The legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare is coming up for a vote very soon.”
The group plans to pour $10 million into calls nationwide.
On Friday, Rep. Palmer indicated that he would support the Act after having his concerns addressed by President Trump.
“I voted against the American Health Care Act in the House Budget Committee because, in my opinion, the underlying bill was not sufficient to address our healthcare crisis,” Palmer told AL.com.”The Trump Administration and Republican Leadership have since made a number of concessions that I believe would improve the bill, improvements that President Trump assured me he supports and that justify my support.”
Rep. Brooks, however, has been front-and-center as an opposing voice to the measure.
“It’s akin to Christmas where that oratory is pretty but you open up the present and it’s a lump of coal,” Brooks said during a March 9 interview with CNN. “This bill is a lump of coal. And it is the largest welfare program ever proposed by Republicans in the history of the Republican Party. It’s going to be disastrous for our deficit and debt long term.”
Upon its announcement, the proposed law would remove the individual mandate, pull back on Medicaid expansion by phasing out recipients who earn a certain amount, and would increase the amount allowable for deposit in a health savings account. Two provisions from Obamacare would remain untouched: children will be allowed to stay on their parents’ insurance until the age of 26, and an insurance company would not be allowed to deny care because of preexisting conditions. Additionally, the new bill introduces tax credits for families who purchase insurance on the individual market.
The legislation is expected to see several changes as it moves through Congress.
