HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA)/POLITICS: “The latest Republican effort to reshape the nation’s health-care system teetered on the brink of collapse in the House, reflecting a new assertiveness by GOP centrists, a group that in recent years has rarely wielded such power.
Rep. Fred Upton (R., Mich.), an influential former committee chairman who is considering a Senate bid next year, said Tuesday [5-2-17] he was opposed to the current version of the bill, delivering a major blow to the GOP leaders’ effort to overhaul the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare.
GOP leaders said late Tuesday they were still sewing up support for the bill, but the ranks of Republicans opposed or undecided on the bill swelled to numbers almost large enough to derail it. As of Tuesday, at least 21 House Republicans said they wouldn’t support the legislation, with a similar number undecided.
House GOP leaders most likely can’t lose more than 22 Republican votes to pass the health-care bill, which isn’t expected to receive any Democratic support.”
-Kristina Peterson and Stephanie Amour, “GOP’s Health-Bill Woes Show New Power of Party’s Centrist Wing,” The Wall Street Journal online, May 3, 2017 6:20am