The vote for the American Health Care Act is close enough to be "nip and tuck" matter, House Republican Deputy Whip Tom Cole, who chairs the Health and Human Services subcommittee, said Friday.
"Sometimes, as you put people on the wagon, they fall off the other side," the Oklahoma Republican told Fox News' "Happening Now" program. "Some of the concessions were made to one group, sometimes another. Members know this is a big vote. They've taken a lot of time. The speaker has given them a lot of time."
Cole said he favors the legislation, mainly because it "gets rid of Obamacare."
"It does repeal all of the mandates, most of the regulations, all of the taxes," Cole said. "Second, it really does provide a lot in the way of support for individuals, with tax credits. They can literally buy the plan they want."
The AHCA, he continued, takes decision making out of Washington and puts it back at the state level, where states are "more likely to make good decisions."
Further, said Cole, the bill keeps the parts of Obamacare that people like, including the ability to purchase insurance despite preexisting conditions, and having "no limits, lifetime limits on your insurance, those sorts of things that are popular."
If nothing is done, Cole said, rates will go up in his state alone by 69 percent next year, and there will be just one insurance provider from which to choose.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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