Republican lawmakers worry if ‘Trumpcare’ doesn’t deliver

By , Associated Press

Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017 | 12:13 p.m.

WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers are fearful about the potential political fallout if their eventual replacement of President Barack Obama's health law doesn't deliver, and they didn't hold back at their recent policy conference.

"We'd better be sure that we're prepared to live with the market we've created," Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., was quoted as saying in Saturday's Washington Post, one of the media organizations that obtained an audio recording of a private session at last week's GOP strategy retreat in Philadelphia.

"That's going to be called 'Trumpcare.' Republicans will own that lock, stock and barrel, and we'll be judged in the election less than two years away."

Rep. Tom MacArthur, R-N.J., worried that Republican plans could strip health insurance from many of the 20 million people who gained covered through the Affordable Care Act, including through the expansion of Medicaid.

"We're telling those people that we're not going to pull the rug out from under them, and if we do this too fast, we are in fact going to pull the rug out from under them," MacArthur was quoted as saying.

The Post said the remarks made by McClintock and others were confirmed by their offices or the congressmen themselves.

The concerns focused on how to quickly repeal Obama's program and replace it without depriving people of coverage or driving up premiums.

Rep. John Faso, R-N.Y., warned against eliminating federal money for Planned Parenthood, as many Republicans hope to do with the repeal. "We are just walking into a gigantic political trap if we go down this path of sticking Planned Parenthood in the health insurance bill," he said.

Faso's remarks drew tepid applause, according to the account.

The Post said Congress has been left without explicit guidance from Trump or his administration. Andrew Bremberg, who heads Trump's domestic policy council, attended the session but offered few details about what legislative proposals the president favors, the report said.