The U.S. House of Representatives will vote Thursday on a controversial Republican bill that would repeal and replace key parts of Obamacare, CNBC reported yesterday. "We will pass this bill," Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said. "I feel great about the [vote] count." The expected vote will come a day after two leading Republicans, Reps. Billy Long and Fred Upton, agreed to switch their expected “no” votes to “yes.” Both had come out against the bill because of a change made to it last week that would, in their view, weaken price protections for private individual plan insurance customers with pre-existing health conditions. But Long and Upton reversed their opinions after getting another amendment that would provide $8 billion in federal funding that would supposedly protect such customers from higher premiums. Their reversal added momentum to the push for the vote. Another factor that may have played a role in the scheduling of the vote is a scheduled recess for the House at the end of this week, and the desire by GOP leaders that members not face lobbying against the bill from constituents. The bill would reform the way that the federal government subsidizes purchases of individual health plans, and also how it funds Medicaid, the joint federal-state program that provides health coverage to primarily poor people. It would also eliminate Obamacare taxes.
