Nevada delegation votes along party lines on repeal

By Yvonne Gonzalez

Thursday, May 4, 2017 | 12:43 p.m.

Nevada’s congressional representatives voted along party lines to repeal Obamacare on Thursday, with Democrats failing to overcome a Republican majority in the House of Representatives.

Lacking GOP support the last time around, supporters of the American Health Care Act added some changes and secured the 217-213 vote needed to move the measure on to the Senate.

U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., voted yes while Democratic Reps. Dina Titus, Ruben Kihuen and Jacky Rosen voted against it. Amodei’s spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

The bill now goes to the Senate, where it faces a slimmer Republican majority.

Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., was among the conservatives to derail the previous vote on the bill and says he will not support it this time around either.

“I want to repeal Obamacare in a way that benefits Nevadans, but I think that the current bill falls short,” Heller said in a statement. “I will not support it in its current form in the Senate, and am confident that what the Senate considers and approves will be different from the House bill.

He said he is working with Gov. Brian Sandoval and Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to find a solution in the Senate.

“We cannot pull the rug out from under states like Nevada that expanded Medicaid and we need assurances that people with pre-existing conditions will be protected,” he said.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., said in a statement after the vote that tens of millions of Americans will lose coverage if the bill becomes law.

“They will find themselves suddenly unable to access the prescription drugs and treatments they rely on to survive,” she said. “For millions more, especially those with pre-existing conditions, premiums will skyrocket.”