Robert King of the Washington Examiner reports that an Easter congressional recess has done nothing to narrow the current divide over repealing and replacing the federal Affordable Care Act.
A united Republican bill to repeal and replace Obamacare appears more and more out of reach after an Easter recess full of rowdy town halls, which have emboldened centrist Republicans to oppose an aggressive repeal of Obamacare being pushed by conservative Republicans and the White House.
The key sticking point for Republicans is which Obamacare regulations states would be able to ignore under the final bill. The conservative House Freedom Caucus wants to let states opt out of a health insurance price control called “community rating” and a rule mandating essential health benefits, because they say those provisions lead to higher costs.
But centrists are balking, particularly about the community rating, which forces insurers to charge people of the same age the same rate so that sicker people do not have to pay more.
The town halls being held during the Easter recess seem to be furthering the divide between the two factions, with the fight over pre-existing conditions being the main dispute. While people with pre-existing conditions could still get coverage, without community rating insurers could charge them exorbitant prices.
Conservatives say that high-risk pools can act as a safety net for those patients. However, centrists worry that the conservative plan would erode the Obamacare benefit, leaving them to face soaring costs.
