House conservatives won't back spending bill with ObamaCare payments
House conservatives said they won't support a short-term spending bill to fund the government if it contains provisions to "bail out" insurance companies.
A deal between moderate GOP Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) would likely attach two bipartisan measures to stabilize ObamaCare's insurance markets to the spending bill in exchange for her vote on tax reform.
But conservatives say that wouldn't pass the House.
"We haven't repealed ObamaCare, we haven't cut taxes yet, and we haven't started construction on the border security wall like we told the voters. But before we get any of that stuff done we're going to bail out insurance companies in the spending bill?" said Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the former chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.
"For me, I think probably largely for many of our members, that doesn't make sense. I wouldn't be supportive of that."
One of the measures, sponsored by Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.), would fund key ObamaCare insurer payments, called cost sharing reductions (CSR), for two years.
These payments reimburse insurers for giving discounted deductibles and copays to low-income patients but have been criticized by conservatives as a bailout of insurance companies.
The other bill, sponsored by Collins and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), would fund “reinsurance,” government funding to help pay for the costs of sick enrollees and bring down premium prices.
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/362603-house-conservatives-slam-deal-to-fund-obamacare-payments-in-spending-bill
Looks like there's a shutdown coming and the Republicans are going to own it.
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