Republicans in the House of Representatives said more reforms are needed in two Obamacare stabilization bills, the Washington Examiner reported Tuesday.
One bill funds cost-sharing reduction payments to Obamacare's insurers in exchange for allowing states to waive Obamacare insurer regulations. Another bill gives states $10 billion over two years for reinsurance programs to cover the largest claims from Obamacare insurers, the Examiner reported.
The Senate and President Donald Trump are in favor of the bills, the newspaper said.
"So far the only thing I have seen is additional flexibility at the state level. For me, it is not enough. I want something substantial to justify a vote for that," Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., told the Examiner.
Some House Republicans call the cost-sharing payments a "bailout," the Examiner reported. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., the leader of the House Freedom Caucus, said that support could happen if the bills also lowered premiums.
Several senators said the plan is to put the two bills in an omnibus long-term spending deal. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said that an omnibus bill is more likely in the wake of the short-term spending deal that ended the government shutdown, the Examiner reported.
However, Rep. Cole criticized the idea of placing the Obamacare bills in an omnibus, saying, "You are trying to jam the other chamber and Democrats just tried to do that and it didn't work. I think you would have a big eruption on our side. I think our people want something with it that is a comparable concessions."
Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, said that the Obamacare legislation is now a priority since the child insurance program CHIP was funded in the short-term spending deal Monday.
Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Monday that the end of the shutdown could bring Congress closer to getting deals on multiple issues, including the Obamacare stabilization bills, the Examiner reported Monday.
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