Third House Dem backs ‘keep your plan’ bill

Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.), a top Republican target for 2014, has signed on as a sponsor of legislation that would allow people to keep their health insurance plans under ObamaCare.

{mosads}Murphy is only the third Democrat to back the bill, following Reps. John Barrow (D-Ga.) and Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.), who are also vulnerable in the midterm elections.

Both Barrow and McIntyre voted against the healthcare law in 2010.

Murphy’s office could not be reached for comment.

The “keep your plan” bill has picked up increasing support since introduced and now has 161 co-sponsors. A vote on the bill is set for Friday.

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has also signed on as a co-sponsor, potentially giving cover to some conservative Republicans wary of backing a bill that fixes ObamaCare, rather than dismantling it fully.

House Democrats are largely opposed to the measure, however. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Tuesday he’s leaning toward opposing the bill but emphasized that he hasn’t seen the final version yet.

And the White House has come out against the bill, with spokesman Jay Carney on Tuesday arguing that allowing Americans to keep their current plans would sabotage the minimum coverage requirement in the new healthcare law.

Still, the thousands of Americans facing dropped coverage due to ObamaCare have prompted bad press and national backlash against the president and Democrats, who have seen the political advantage they saw post-shutdown erased in the wake of the rocky ObamaCare rollout.