“If it’s less than the 2015 [bill], we will oppose it,” Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) told a small group of reporters Monday night. The 2015 repeal bill removed the Medicaid expansion that is popular in many red states ― including among many Republican governors ― and repealed the individual and employer mandates. A plan like that would have the benefit of not allowing lawmakers or the public to truly evaluate the GOP alternative. Which is to say a repeal was already in some degree of trouble, as Republicans struggle to come up with a replacement. Now that conservatives are demanding the repeal meet that 2015 standard, it could be even more difficult for GOP leaders to find coalitions in the House and Senate.

Source: Huffington Post February 14, 2017 03:16 UTC