WASHINGTON — A White House offensive to resurrect the moribund House Republican health care bill got an uneven reception Tuesday from GOP moderates and conservatives, leaving prospects shaky for the party to salvage one of its leading priorities.
Vice President Mike Pence and other top administration officials were offering to let states request federal exemptions from insurance coverage requirements imposed by President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. Top House conservatives and moderates planned to meet with Pence and GOP leaders late Tuesday in hopes of finding common ground, but the odds for success seemed long.
At the White House, Pence said he and President Donald Trump “remain confident that working with the Congress we will repeal and replace Obamacare,” while White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Trump wanted an agreement, if possible.
But there was no evidence that the proposal won over any GOP opponents who’d forced Trump and party leaders to beat a retreat on their bill on March 24, when they canceled a House vote that was doomed to failure.
“We want to make sure that when we go, we have the votes to pass this bill,” House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., told reporters. He said talks were in “the conceptual stage” and declined to predict a vote before Congress leaves town shortly for a two-week recess — when lawmakers could face antagonistic grilling from voters at town hall meetings.
Later in the day, Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., his party’s chief vote counter, said talks were not at “a place where there is consensus” on health care and indicated a vote this week was unlikely.
Under the White House proposal, states could apply for a federal waiver from a provision in Obama’s statute obliging insurers to cover “essential health benefits,” including mental health, maternity and substance abuse services. The current version of the GOP legislation would erase that coverage requirement but let states reimpose it themselves, language that is opposed by many moderates.