U.S. House set to vote on ACA ‘repeal and replace’ bill

Courtesy / Office of Sen. Angus King U.S. Sen. Angus King, shown on the Senate floor, characterized the House Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act as "shift and shaft" in a Facebook video posted Wednesday. The House is expected to vote this afternoon on the GOP plan.

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By Staff

It appears that the U.S. House of Representatives is finally set to vote on the American Health Care Act, the Republican plan to repeal and replace Obamacare.

The vote, which comes after nearly two months of stalled attempts at passage, could take place as early as this afternoon, according to Business Insider.

Business Insider reported that the House Rules Committee cleared the AHCA late Wednesday, setting up a vote that’s expected to be very close. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters he was confident that the bill would pass.

MSNBC reported that if 23 GOP lawmakers oppose the bill, it’ll die. If the total GOP opposition is 22 or fewer, it will pass. How U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin, R-Maine, will vote is unknown at this point.

“Republicans plan to vote on the legislation Thursday even though there is no Congressional Budget Office analysis of the costs and benefits and many members will not have read the newest version of the bill before voting yea or nay,” The Week reported early this morning, adding that the “ last Congressional Budget Office score predicted that 24 million fewer Americans would have health insurance under the plan.”

A key change that helped spur GOP leaders’ decision to bring the AHCA to a vote is an amendment from Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., that would add $8 billion over five years to help people with pre-existing conditions pay premiums in states that might choose to waive Obamacare protections and allow insurers to charge them more, according to CBS News.

U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, in a Facebook video posted Wednesday night, wasted no words in his assessment of the GOP’s latest AHCA bill. “The bottom line is it’s shift and shaft, and it’s going to cost Maine people their health insurance,” he said.