Mark Meadows, the head of the conservative House Freedom Caucus said on Thursday (March 23) his group could not yet support the bill to roll back “Obamacare” in the House of Representatives, saying the measure still lacked the support needed for passage.
Many members of the caucus think the new bill is too similar to “Obamacare,” and that the overhaul does not go far enough to undo components of it.
The bill, intended to be the replacement for “Obamacare,” faced an uphill battle to gain the amount of votes needed to move the legislation onto the senate for passage. U.S. President Donald Trump was to make a final push to get the support needed to begin dismantling “Obamacare” in the House but faced signs that enough Republicans might oppose the bill to jeopardize one of his top legislative priorities.
The effort is seen by financial markets as a crucial test of Trump’s ability to deliver on his legislative agenda, including planned tax cuts. Republican leaders hoped to vote on the health care bill on Thursday, the seventh anniversary of former Democratic President Barack Obama signing his health care law. There were indications the House vote could be pushed back.
(REUTERS)
