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They would have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn't been for those pesky reporters. House Republicans are now vowing that they will not exempt themselves from the worst part of Zombie Trumpcare 3.0—the part that everyone is in an uproar about—allowing states to opt out of making insurance companies provide essential health benefits and protections for people with pre-existing conditions. That's the whole point of the latest Trumpcare amendment, the one that Freedom Caucus types want—gutting the key protections for consumers in Obamacare. Making sure that their own protections didn't go away wasn't going over well, so House Republicans are doing an about-face.
A new bill authored by Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) would remove the exemption.
GOP staff and lawmakers said the exemption was originally added to comply with Senate rules but acknowledged that it was politically problematic.
"That'll be fixed. That was written in to comply with some Senate rules to make sure it's just a budget vote," said Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.), who authored the amendment. […]
"Congress, my staff, we’re on the Affordable Care Act exchange. We need to live by the same rules as everyone else, period. And I will make sure that is fixed before a vote," MacArthur said.
Democrats quickly latched onto the exemption, touting it as proof that the bill is so bad, its supporters don't want to be subject to it.
Sure, blame it on the Senate. It's always convenient to blame it on the Senate. Removing that exemption, though, doesn't seem to be attracting any more of those moderates. The latest, rather significant, defector is Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA).
As if taking away health care from 24 million people wasn’t bad enough, House Republicans have a new plan that would be even worse. Call your member of Congress at 202-224-3121, and tell them you expect them to FIGHT Trumpcare.