Mike Pence stumps for GOP Obamacare replacement ahead of House vote
Vice President Mike Pence made an effort Saturday to sell the GOP-sponsored legislation to replace Obamacare to voters in Florida ahead of the House vote on the bill next week.
“The Obamacare nightmare is about to end,,” Pence said at an event at Mac Papers, a distributor of paper and print solutions, in Jacksonville, Florida. “Obamacare has failed and Obamacare must go.”
Pence claimed that the promises Democrats made about Obamacare have all been broken in terms of the cost of health insurance going down and being able to keep your doctor or health plan. He said Floridians and job creators in the state cannot afford Obamacare anymore.
“The core flaw of Obamacare is this notion that you could order every American to buy health insurance whether they wanted it or needed it or not,” Pence said.
The new plan sponsored by House Republicans, known as the American Health Care Act (AHCA), Pence said, is built on freedom, personal responsibility and state flexibility and reform. Pence said the measure would repeal Obamacare’s taxes and end its mandates and penalties. He said it would expand health savings accounts and ensure people with pre-existing conditions have the coverage they need.
“We’re going to stop any more states from expanding Medicaid and adding a burden to future generations,” he added. “We’re going to give states the option of block grants of Medicaid to states like Florida so they can innovate and design Medicaid around the unique needs around the people in this community, and we’re going to allow states like Florida to include a work requirement for able-bodied adults ensuring that Medicaid’s benefits are there for those who need it most.”
Pence said that the White House is working with GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill to improve the bill and is working with Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price on the next phase of the repeal and replace plan.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-California, said Friday that the House would vote next week on the bill and that late votes are expected Thursday, which is likely when the health care vote will be held.
