Jordan, Kasich both unhappy with Obamacare replacement bill, but for different reasons – The Columbus Dispatch

Jessica Wehrman Dispatch Washington Bureau @JessicaWehrman

WASHINGTON In dueling appearances on talk shows Sunday morning, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan demonstrated the wide range of concerns varying wings of the GOP have with the current Obamacare replacement bill working its way through the House.

While Kasich urged Republicans and Democrats to work to fix the current system in order to prevent low-income Ohioans from losing access to health care, Jordan, an Urbana Republican, warned against offering subsidies to those with no tax liability and vowed to fight any extension of the current Medicaid expansion.

Taken together, the two offer a window into the very real problems that the GOP will have in passing this bill: One part of the party is concerned it goes too far, the other worries it doesnt go far enough.

Look, the bill needs fixed, said Kasich on NBCs Meet the Press with Chuck Todd. The current system doesn't work. That's why it's possible to get Democrats involved. But you don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

He calls for enlisting Democrats, saying that Republicans now are trying to jam through the bill without Democrats a mistake that he said Democrats made back in 2010 with Obamacare.

Kasich, who expanded Medicaid under the 2010 law despite concerns from some in his own party, said that expansion has covered some 700,000 in the state, including a large population of the mentally ill, the drug addicted and those with chronic diseases. They tend to move off that program, he said, but then head to an exchange that is broken.

The exchange needs to be fixed, he said, but don't kill Medicaid expansion.

The governor said the current bill does not provide adequate resources for the drug addicted, mentally ill and chronically ill to see a doctor.

If I put you on an exchange for your family and I give you a $4,000 tax credit or a $3,000 tax credit, what kind of insurance are you going to buy for $3,000? he asked.

Kasich said he believes the current bill will pass the House, but he is hopeful it will be changed in the Senate. Among those who have expressed concerns about the current bills impact on the Medicaid population is Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio. The Republican Governors Association, of which Kasich is a part, has been working with the Senate.

Jordan, meanwhile, has called for a clean repeal of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, saying the current bill does not fulfill the promises that Republicans made to voter during last years election cycle.

We told then we were going to repeal Obamacare and replace it with something thats going to bring down cost of insurance, he said on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace. The current bill doesnt do that.

If Jordan has his say, the bill in its current form will not pass the House. He is the co-founder of the conservative Freedom Caucus, which has nearly 40 members. If more than half unite in opposition to the bill, its chances of passing the House will be grim.

Wallace asked Jordan if he was prepared to be part of what could be a death blow to the early days of the Trump presidency. Trump has been a leading supporter of the bill.

But Jordan said it was a false choice. Wed like a chance to amend it, change it and make it consistent with the message we told the voters we were going to accomplish, he said.

Both Jordan and Kasich say they believe Trump is open to negotiation, though Jordan, pressed by Wallace, would not list what the Freedom Caucus demands are. Were working on that, he said. He and other Freedom Caucus members head to the White House on Tuesday to speak to Trump.

I think that he's very open to compromise, Kasich said of Trump, saying the two have talked about drug costs. I have no doubt about that he would be flexible. He just wants to get something through."

He criticized Republicans for being too focused on fulfilling campaign promises at the risk of hurting some of the very constituents they serve.

If all you focus on in life is what's in it for me, you're a loser, he said. You are a big time loser. And this country better be careful we're not losing the soul of our country because we play politics and we forget people who are in need.

jwehrman@dispatch.com

@jessica_wehrman

Go here to read the rest:
Jordan, Kasich both unhappy with Obamacare replacement bill, but for different reasons - The Columbus Dispatch