WASHINGTON_The American Health Care Act, which government estimates have said could lead to 24 million fewer Americans with health insurance and could substantially affect both those on Medicaid and those with employer-provided insurance, passed the House 217 to 213. It will now move on to the Senate, where it is expected to face multiple stumbling blocks.
More than half of the Golden State's Republicans were among the members who were leery of the bill when it was changed to accommodate the far-right Freedom Caucus, including allowing states to scrap protections for people with pre-existing conditions. But an amendment that added $8 billion to offset insurance costs for some people with pre-existing conditions appears to have swayed some of the holdouts, including Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., who earlier this week said he would vote against the bill.
House Republican leaders, including House Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., insist the bill will still cover people with pre-existing conditions such as asthma, pregnancy or cancer. Conditions such as those were used by insurance companies to deny coverage before Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act. But most health care experts and patient advocates dispute that. The House did not wait for an official report from the Congressional Budget Office on how much the bill would cost or how it would affect Americans.
New tax credits created under the bill could not be spent on any policy that covers abortions, which will significantly affect any Californian who receives federal assistance to pay for insurance. Under California law, all insurance policies offered in the state must include abortion coverage.
As expected, all 39 California House Democrats voted against the bill.
Seven of the 14 Republicans in California's delegation represent districts that backed Hillary Clinton for president in November, and Democrats have already announced they will focus on winning those seats.
Democrats are expected to lambaste their Republican colleagues in the 2018 midterm election for supporting the bill, just as Republicans did to win a wave of seats after the Affordable Care Act passed.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., opened with a warning during a Thursday morning news conference. "Most people don't even know who their congressperson is in many places. And now they'll find out. They will find out that their congressperson voted to take away their health care," she told reporters before the vote.
