by Luke Henderson
Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie stated in an interview with The Blaze still plans to vote against the new Healthcare bill even with the new amendments. States can now opt out of certain regulations that would include requirements for insurance companies to base premiums on the health of the individual.
Congressman Massie states “I’m voting against it, if it comes to a vote, because it’s not a real repeal”. He claimed that the amendments made the bill “more conservative”, but that it was still not enough to ensure his vote.
He continued the interview by calling out his colleagues that said they would not vote on the bill because it was too close to being a full repeal and admitting that they like Obamacare.
Fellow libertarian leaning Republican and Freedom Caucus member, Justin Amash, has made no comment on the currently amended healthcare bill, but last month he did call for Paul Ryan to step down if he didn’t take a “new direction.”
This may not mean that Rep. Amash will vote against the bill, as Freedom Caucus Chair Mark Meadows released a statement that said:
“Over the past couple of months, House conservatives have worked tirelessly to improve the American Health Care Act (AHCA) to make it better for the American people. Due to improvements to the AHCA and the addition of Rep. Tom MacArthur’s proposed amendment, the House Freedom Caucus has taken an official position in support of the current proposal.
The MacArthur amendment will grant states the ability to repeal cost driving aspects of Obamacare left in place under the original AHCA. While the revised version still does not fully repeal Obamacare, we are prepared to support it to keep our promise to the American people to lower healthcare costs. We look forward to working with our Senate colleagues to improve the bill. Our work will continue until we fully repeal Obamacare.”
It’s good to see the libertarian members of congress working to eliminate the atrocity that is the Affordable Care Act. Whether they are fully opposing the new bill or see it as a stepping stone to a full repeal, the fight will continue.
