Freedom Caucus members had been concerned that the House healthcare reform bill did not actually repeal Obamacare and that the initial plan didn't reduce costs enough, but compromise changes that have been made will make it work, including coverage for adults to remain on their parents' insurance, Rep. Louie Gohmert said Thursday.
"Most important, I think, to a lot of our constituents, premiums will come down," the Texas Republican and Freedom Caucus member told Fox News' "Fox & Friends" program. "There is no removal of the mandate about coverage for preexisting conditions and coverage. Twenty-six year olds can be on the parents' insurance."
Gohmert said he doesn't mind leaving the parents' insurance provision in the new plan.
"Heck, I would be for putting it at 50 or 60," he said. "I don't care, if you are living at home with your parents, heck yeah, be on their insurance."
Gohmert said the compromise that was reached allows mandates to come out that had forced coverage and drove prices up, so prices will instead drop in the next two years if the plan is voted into law.
"That's huge," said Gohmert. "Also, states are allowed to request a waiver from some of the other mandates that can bring prices down further."
The Texan said he's "not crazy" about having a federal high risk pool, but that is supposed to revert back to the states, which will have a choice in the matter.
The Freedom Caucus likes the compromises, said Gohmert, but the House moderate GOP Tuesday Group also "got a lot of things."
"Thank goodness they are concerned about their constituents," he said. "They care about it; it's just reaching a compromise so that we can get help to all of our constituents."
Gohmert said he's not sure how many of the Tuesday Group will vote for the bill, but it had been the Freedom Caucus' wish all along to get together with the opposing group and hammer out a compromise.
"Originally our leadership did not want to compromise off of what we already had," said Gohmert, "but we were determined. If we're not going to get a full repeal we have at least got to get help with these skyrocketing premiums."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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