Amash: At best, GOP plan makes ObamaCare ‘less bad’

by Nikita Vladimirov - 05/06/17 11:58 PM ET

Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) said Saturday that “at best” the newly passed GOP healthcare plan will “make Obamacare less bad,” calling it “only marginally better” than the Affordable Care Act.

Although Amash, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, voted in favor of the legislation on Thursday, he wrote in a lengthy Facebook post that “this is not the bill we promised the American people.”

“When Republican leaders first unveiled the American Health Care Act, a Democratic friend and colleague joked to me that the bill wasn’t a new health care proposal; it was plagiarism. He was right,” Amash wrote.

{mosads}

Amash reiterated his point that both parties were “exaggerating” the effects of the bill for political purposes.

“For President Trump and congressional Republicans, the reason is obvious: They have long vowed to repeal (and replace) Obamacare, and their base expects them to get it done,” he said.

“For congressional Democrats, it’s an opportunity to scare and energize their base in anticipation of 2018. Neither side wants to present the AHCA for what it is—a more limited proposal to rework and reframe parts of the ACA, for better or for worse.”

Amash said he only supported the bill because it is a “marginal improvement” to ObamaCare, not because he wholly agrees with the legislation.

“In this case, I felt comfortable advancing the bill to the Senate as a marginal improvement to the ACA … If it advances liberty even a little (on net), then I’m a yes,” he said.

“At best, it will make Obamacare less bad,” he said, reiterating his call to “fully repeal Obamacare.”

The House narrowly passed the GOP plan aimed at repealing and replacing ObamaCare on Thursday, with 20 Republicans joining all Democrats in opposing the bill. It now heads to the Senate, where Republicans have promised major changes.

Tags Justin Amash