Valley reps react to Trumpcare bill

By David Skolnick | May 5, 2017 at 12:09a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland says the House vote to repeal and replace Obamacare “will have devastating consequences for hard-working families and is an absolute betrayal of everything we stand for as Americans.”

But U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson of Marietta, R-6th, who voted for the bill Thursday, said it is “a vast improvement over Obamacare that continues to unravel.”

The GOP-controlled House voted 217-213 in favor of the bill that overturns Obamacare. Twenty Republicans voted against the bill. The House abandoned a March vote after conservative and moderate Republicans opposed it. But it narrowly passed Thursday when changes were made including adding money to help seriously ill patients afford their medical costs.

Democrats, including Ryan, D-13th, said the bill would kick millions off coverage and greatly increase premiums for many with pre-existing conditions.

Republicans “took a bill that didn’t reduce the cost of premiums, that didn’t expand health coverage for all, that didn’t protect people with pre-existing conditions and that nobody liked, and nobody wanted, and decided it was good policy,” Ryan said Thursday. “This is a dark day for the United States House of Representatives and our country. Republican leadership and the [Donald] Trump administration should be ashamed.”

Johnson said: “Pre-existing conditions are covered, despite the false claims by some. Nobody can be charged higher premiums if they keep their coverage. Under Obamacare, insurers are fleeing the marketplace, and at the current rate, those with and without pre-existing conditions will lose their health insurance. [Thursday], the House kept the promise to stop the collapse of Obamacare.”

Ryan and Johnson said it’s now the Senate’s turn to address this bill.

Ryan said he expects the Senate to either make “dramatic changes” to the House bill or “vote it down.” Johnson said the House gave the Senate “a great starting point to work with in order to rescue the American people from the flawed federal takeover of our health care system.”

If U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican from the Cincinnati area, is any indication, it’s going to be a challenge to get this bill approved in the Senate.

While saying “the status quo on health care is unsustainable,” Portman added: “I don’t support the House bill as currently constructed because I continue to have concerns that this bill does not do enough to protect Ohio’s Medicaid expansion population, especially those who are receiving treatment for heroin and prescription drug abuse.”

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Cleveland Democrat, said: “We cannot allow Washington politicians with taxpayer-funded health insurance to rip coverage away from Ohioans who are battling cancer, getting regular checkups for the first time or finally getting treatment for their opioid addiction.”

Brown added that the bill “is heartless, it is bad for Ohio, and it will leave real Ohioans struggling to afford care. Instead of taking care away, we should be working to reduce the price of prescription drugs and improve care for everyone.”