Which Republicans Were Against the American Health Care Act?

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General view of the House of Representatives as U.S. President Donald J. Trump delivers his address to a joint session of Congress, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, DC, February 28, 2017. (Getty)

The American Health Care Act on Friday was pulled minutes before a vote on the bill was expected to take place.

In a press conference on Friday afternoon, Paul Ryan said that there was a group of conservatives who were against the bill and who were the reason why did not pass.

So who is Ryan talking about? Which Republicans were against the bill? Here’s what you need to know.

  • Justin Amash – Representative Justin Amash of Michigan felt that the American Health Care Act would not actually repeal Obamacare. He said on Twitter that the bill simply “repackages Obamacare and avoids meaningful reforms.” He also said that the bill “doesn’t reduce health care costs.” He added that the bill, which he called Obamacare 2.0, addresses the “symptoms, not causes, of rising costs and limited access..”
  • Jim Jordan – Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio said that the bill does not go far enough and that it does not truly repeal Obamacare as Republicans promised to do. “Our job is to…do what we told the American people we were going to do when they gave us the privilege to serve, and this bill doesn’t do that,” he told MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “This bill doesn’t repeal Obamacare, and that fundamentally is why we’re opposed to it. And unless it changes I do not see the votes there to pass this legislation.”
  • Dave Brat – Dave Brat of Virginia said that the bill “is too much politics and not enough good policy,” adding that “Repeal does not mean Repeat.” He also said that he has seen no evidence that the bill would reduce costs. And in a piece for The Washington Examiner, Brat said that the bill “rests on the same philosophical premise as Obamacare.”
  • Rob Wittman – Rob Wittman of Virginia said that the AHCA is inconsistent with the principle of repealing and replacing Obamacare. “I do not think this bill will do what is necessary for the short and long-term best interests of Virginians and therefore, I must oppose it,” he said on his Facebook page. “I do believe that we can enact meaningful health care reforms that put the patient and health care provider back at the center of our health care system, but this bill is not the right answer.”
  • Leonard Lance – Leonard Lance of New Jersey said in an interview with My Central Jersey that the American Health Care Act would not actually drive down costs. After meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House, Lance said that he “entered the meeting with many of the concerns shared by my constituents about how the law would specifically affect health care costs in New Jersey and funding for state programming.”
  • Ileana Ros-Lehtinen  Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida said that the AHCA would leave too many people uninsured. Ros-Lehtinen explained in a statement, “After studying the impact of this proposed legislation on my district and speaking with many of my constituents, I have decided to vote no on the bill as currently written. The bill’s consequences for South Florida are clear: too many of my constituents will lose insurance and there will be less funds to help the poor and elderly with their healthcare.”
  • Warren Davidson – Warren Davidson of Ohio, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, said in an interview with CNN that the ACHA is not well-liked in his state. He also said that the bill does not truly repeal and replace Obamacare, that it’s not the “change that we all talked about,” and that it does not drive down costs.
  • Andy Harris – Andy Harris of Maryland told The New York Times that the AHCA “simply won’t lower premiums as much as the American people need, and lowering the cost of coverage is my primary goal.”
  • Thomas Garrett – Thomas Garrett of Virginia told CNN said that the ACHA does not give Americans access to affordable care. He also said that by keeping the Medicaid expansion going for a number of years, the federal government would be “rewarding bad behavior.” And he said that the refundable tax credits would be a new entitlement.
  • Mark Sanford – Mark Sanford of South Carolina, who wrote his own Obamacare replacement bill with Rand Paul, told CNN, “From a conservative’s perspective, there are a number of things that need further refinement. This notion of a refundable tax credit is a big deal, Medicaid expansion is a big deal, the Cadillac tax is a big deal.”
  • Randy Weber – Randy Weber of Texas on Thursday said that the American Health Care Act needs “more vetting” and that it is not as strong as it needs to be, implying he is opposed to the bill’s tax credits and saying that this would be another government program.
  • Jaime Herrera Beutler – Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington told The Seattle Times said that the bill does not do enough to protect those enrolled in Medicaid. “While I appreciate this week’s effort by Speaker Ryan and his leadership team to better protect older Americans from health-care cost increases, the difficulties this bill would create for millions of children were left unaddressed,” she said.
  • Mark Amodei  Mark Amodei of Nevada proposed an amendment to the bill which would tie tax cuts for insurance companies to the lowering of premiums, according to the Reno Gazette Journal. He also wanted to exempt residents of counties with only one insurance provider from being charged more after having a gap in coverage. On Thursday, he said on Twitter that he is a “no” on the bill.
  • Rick Crawford Rick Crawford said that the AHCA maintains Obamacare’s overall structure and approach, an “approach that cements the federal government’s role in health insurance.” He also told Arkansas Online, “When we’re $20 trillion in debt, and we’re facing interest rate increases, I don’t want to engage in another [entitlement] program that exacerbates that problem. Big government under Republicans vs. big government under Democrats is still big government.”
  • John Katko – John Katko of New York said that the bill will not cover the cost of health care for New Yorkers. “I’ve said I’ll never vote for a repeal until a replacement is ready to go,” he said. “It’s clear to me that it’s not ready to go.”
  • Mark Meadows – Mark Meadows of North Carolina said that Republicans “owe it to the voters to keep our promises” on repealing Obamacare. He added that the “bill doesn’t do what we promised on bringing down premiums for Americans.”
  • Brian Fitzpatrick Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania said on Facebook, “I have many concerns with this bill, and first among them is the impact on the single most important issue plaguing Bucks and Montgomery Counties, and the issue that I have made my priority in Congress: opioid abuse prevention, treatment and recovery.”
  • Glenn Thompson – Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania said in an interview with the Centre Daily Times, “Obamacare must be repealed, but I have concerns with any proposal that would increase costs for older Americans. As a former licensed nursing home administrator, I also need better assurances that services for our most vulnerable populations will not be jeopardize.”
  • Ted BuddTed Budd of North Carolina in a statement said that the American Health Care Act “leaves the structure of Obamacare in place and does not provide the relief that North Carolina families need from high premiums. I am completely committed to repealing Obamacare and do not think that Congress should take a recess until we have done so.”
  • Don Young – Don Young of Alaska told the Alaska News Dispatch that the AHCA is “really not the repeal of Obamacare as we originally said we were going to do.” He also said that “Under this proposal, on average each Alaskan in the individual market will lose $10,500 in premium support. And that’s just in the individual market — with 18,000 people in Alaska.”
  • Rod Blum Rod Blum of Iowa said on Twitter that the bill “doesn’t do enough to lower premiums for hardworking Americans.” He also said that Congress needs “to drive down actual costs!”
  • Scott Perry – Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, when asked about his lack of support for the bill, told The New York Times, “How can you talk about repealing the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare, without repealing the essential health benefits?”
  • David Young David Young of Iowa said that the AHCA is a good start but that “it does not yet get it right and therefore I cannot support it in it’s present form.” He also said that “The foundation of healthcare reform must be personalized, patient-centered healthcare that treats patients like human beings, not a number. That puts you and your doctor, and not politicians, in charge of your healthcare. This is achievable –we just are not yet there.”
  • Frank A. LoBiondo Frank LoBiondo said in a statement that under the AHCA, “many South Jersey residents would be left with financial hardship or without the coverage they now receive.” He also said that last-minute changes to the bill have not really helped and that “Simply put, this bill does not meet the standards of what was promised; it is not as good as or better than what we currently have. Accordingly, I will vote no on this healthcare plan.”
  • Daniel Donovan – Daniel Donovan explained in an op-ed for Silive that he would be voting no on the American Health Care Act. Among a number of other concerns, he said that the bill would negatively impact senior citizens. “The bill permits insurers to charge older Americans up to five times as much as younger individuals, as opposed to the three-to-one ratio that exists now,” he wrote. “The non-partisan CBO projects the AHCA would increase premiums for a 64-year old by 25 percent. In one startling example, a 64-year old earning $26,500 could pay $14,600 per year for an insurance policy.”
  • Louie Gohmert  Louie Gohmert of Texas said that the American Health Care Act does not meet the Republicans’ promise to repeal Obamacare. “I hope we can keep our promises to the American people,” he said on the floor of the House.
  • Walter B. Jones Walter Jones of North Carolina told WNCT that “Old Americans would see larger increases in out of pocket cost for insurance premiums.”
  • Bill Posey – Bill Posey of of Florida told WMFE that he would oppose the bill if there were no changes made to it.
  • Jody Hice – Jody Hice of Georgia told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that the bill does not go nearly far enough in repealing Obamacare. “It doesn’t move it in the direction we said we would move it,” Hice said “This still is government-involved government healthcare. It’s an entitlement program. It is, in essence, a GOP version of Obamacare, and that’s not what we’ve been sent here to do.”
  • David McKinley – David McKinley of West Virginia has expressed opposition towards the bill, mainly due to how it will affect coal miners in his district. On Wednesday, he met with coal miners in Washington, D.C. and tweeted, “We must protect their hard earned health benefits!” On Thursday, McKinley met with Trump to discuss this topic, and he subsequently tweeted, “Met today with President Trump in an effort to connect health care for coal miners with the replacement of ACA. Encouraging discussion.”
  • Paul A. Gosar – Paul Gosar of Arizona said that the American Health Care Act is not really a full repeal of Obamacare. “Like many of you, I want a full repeal of Obamacare,” Gosar said this week, according to Havasu News. “No half-measures. By forcing health insurers to abide by federal anti-trust laws, these companies will have to actually start competing against each other to provide quality health care coverage…unlike what we currently have under Obamacare.”
  • Ted Yoho – Ted Yoho of Florida expressed concern that the American Health Care Act doesn’t do enough to completely get rid of Obamacare. He told NPR that the “people that sent me up here sent me up here to repeal and replace 100 percent the Affordable Care Act.” He also said that he does not fundamentally agree with the premise that the federal government should be involved in providing people with health care.
  • Charlie Dent – Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania told The Morning Call that the bill “will lead to the loss of coverage and make insurance unaffordable for too many Americans, particularly for low-to-moderate income and older individuals.”
  • Chris Smith – Chris Smith of New Jersey said that he has concerns with how the health care bill handles Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion. “The overriding concern I have is the Medicaid expansion being significantly altered,” Smith told the Asbury Park Press. “It affects so many of our disabled individuals and families, and the working poor.” He also said that he wishes that Obamacare’s flaws could be fixed in a bipartisan way.
  • Mo Brooks – Mo Brooks of Alabama said that the American Health Care Act does not fulfill Republicans’ promise to fully repeal Obamacare. He took issue with the bill’s reliance on tax credits, saying in an interview with CNBC that the bill creates a new welfare program and that in the long run this would result in higher premiums and higher taxes and that it would do “great damage to our country.”
  • Raúl R. Labrador – Raúl Labrador of Idaho is also of the belief that the American Health Care Act does not go far enough in totally dismantling Obamacare. “In 2010, members won on our promise to repeal Obamacare,” he said on Twitter. “When the Republican Party forgets what they campaigned on, we lose seats.” He also said that there’s “no natural constituency” for the bill “except for Washington insiders.”
  • Thomas Massie – Thomas Massie of Kentucky was quite opposed to the American Health Care Act, not mincing words when he told The Washington Examiner that it’s a “stinking pile of garbage. He also said that the bill “was written by the same people that wrote Obamacare. That’s why it looks so similar. It was the insurance lobby.” On Twitter, Massie jokingly said that he was changing his vote on the bill: from a “no” to a “hell no.
  • Rodney Frelinghuysen – Rodney Frelinghuysen of the House Appropriations Committee said on Friday afternoon that the AHCA is unacceptable because it “would place significant new costs and barriers to care on my constituents in New Jersey. In addition to the loss of Medicaid coverage for so many people in my Medicaid-dependent state, the denial of essential health benefits in the individual market raise serious coverage and cost issues.”