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Influential Republican Attacks Party’s New Health Care Bill
WASHINGTON — The former chairman of one of the House committees that drafted legislation to repeal and replace large parts of the Affordable Care Act came out against a new version of the bill on Tuesday, saying the measure now “torpedoes” protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions.
Representative Fred Upton of Michigan, who chaired the House Energy and Commerce Committee as the Affordable Care Act repeal movement built steam, declared on a local radio show, “I cannot support the bill with this provision in it,” just as House Speaker Paul D. Ryan was insisting that the legislation would protect the sick.
The loss of Mr. Upton, an influential Republican voice on health care, was a huge blow, and it came as Republican leaders faced an onslaught of advocacy groups,
and even a late-night talk show host, Jimmy Kimmel, saying the bill would harm the nation’s most vulnerable citizens.
A tearful Mr. Kimmel on Monday night offered up the story of his infant son’s near-death heart surgery, followed by an appeal to Congress not to undermine the Affordable Care Act’s ban on discrimination against people with pre-existing medical conditions. After Mr. Kimmel’s monologue went viral on the Internet, former President Barack Obama piled on, tweeting:
Well said, Jimmy. That's exactly why we fought so hard for the ACA, and why we need to protect it for kids like Billy. And congratulations!
Mr. Upton was explicit: The concessions made to win over the hard-line conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus were costing the leadership support from more moderate Republicans.
By Thomas Kaplan for The New York Times
WASHINGTON — The former chairman of one of the House committees that drafted legislation to repeal and replace large parts of the Affordable Care Act came out against a new version of the bill on Tuesday, saying the measure now “torpedoes” protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions.
Representative Fred Upton of Michigan, who chaired the House Energy and Commerce Committee as the Affordable Care Act repeal movement built steam, declared on a local radio show, “I cannot support the bill with this provision in it,” just as House Speaker Paul D. Ryan was insisting that the legislation would protect the sick.
The loss of Mr. Upton, an influential Republican voice on health care, was a huge blow, and it came as Republican leaders faced an onslaught of advocacy groups,
A tearful Mr. Kimmel on Monday night offered up the story of his infant son’s near-death heart surgery, followed by an appeal to Congress not to undermine the Affordable Care Act’s ban on discrimination against people with pre-existing medical conditions. After Mr. Kimmel’s monologue went viral on the Internet, former President Barack Obama piled on, tweeting:
Barack Obama Well said, Jimmy. That's exactly why we fought so hard for the ACA, and why we need to protect it for kids like Billy. And congratulations!
Mr. Upton was explicit: The concessions made to win over the hard-line conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus were costing the leadership support from more moderate Republicans.
By Thomas Kaplan for The New York Times
