A group of conservatives and right-leaning groups is working on another piece of legislation designed to repeal and replace Obamacare with a bill that would give states added control over the divisive policy issue.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that the proposal has been several months in the making and will be revealed in June. The Health Policy Consensus Group is comprised of conservatives and experts from several right-leaning organizations, such as the Heritage Foundation, the American Enterprise Institute, the Galen Institute and the Manhattan Institute.
The White House backs the plan, the Journal noted, while multiple Republican lawmakers also support the group's efforts.
"Democrats are using healthcare to beat Republicans, and we have nothing," former Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, a supporter of the healthcare push, told the Journal. "The idea we can go into the election where we have some premiums going up 91 percent, and there's something we could have done, is stupid politics."
The GOP-controlled Congress tried and failed last year to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the national healthcare bill signed into law in 2010. Future repeal efforts have been unclear, however, because Republican lawmakers have been unable to come up with a piece of repeal and replace legislation they all agree on.
The latest effort by the Health Policy Consensus Group is working off a piece of legislation introduced last year by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Bill Cassidy, R-La. That bill would have allocated money to states, that would then set up their own healthcare exchanges based on their individual needs.
There are some lawmakers, however, who feel that making another run at repealing the national healthcare law in this election year could spell disaster for the Republican Party. It would risk losing votes in November midterms if Obamacare is spiked, while another failed repeal attempt could also cost the party votes.
"We have a lot of work to do all summer, and the only way I would go back to an issue like that is if I thought we had the votes to actually make a law," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told the Journal.
The House and Senate did, however, pass legislation that will give veterans improved access to healthcare. President Donald Trump is expected to sign it into law.
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