Influential Republican Attacks Party’s New Health Care Bill - By THOMAS KAPLAN and ROBERT PEARMAY 2, 2017 WASHINGTON — The former chairman of one of the House committees that drafted legislation to repeal and replace large parts of the Affordable Care Act came out against a new version of the bill on Tuesday, saying the measure now “torpedoes” protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions. Representative Fred Upton of Michigan, who chaired the House Energy and Commerce Committee as the Affordable Care Act repeal movement built steam, declared on a local radio show, “I cannot support the bill with this provision in it,” just as House Speaker Paul D. Ryan was insisting that the legislation would protect the sick. The loss of Mr. Upton, an influential Republican voice on health care, was a huge blow, and it came as Republican leaders faced an onslaught of advocacy groups, political attack ads and even a late-night talk show host, Jimmy Kimmel, saying the bill would harm the nation’s most vulnerable citizens. The amendment won over the hard-line House Freedom Caucus last week, in part by giving state governments the ability to apply for waivers from the existing law’s required “essential health benefits,” such as maternity, mental health and emergency care, and from rules that generally mandate the same rates for people of the same age, regardless of their medical conditions. Dr. Darrell G. Kirch, the president and chief executive of the medical colleges group, said the newest version of the repeal bill “dilutes protections for many Americans and would leave individuals with pre-existing conditions facing higher premiums and reduced access to vital care.” What you need to know to start your day, delivered to your inbox Monday through Friday.
