Club for Growth opposes Senate ObamaCare repeal bill

The Club for Growth announced its opposition on Tuesday to the Senate GOP’s ObamaCare repeal-and-replace legislation, arguing it would make the United States’ healthcare system worse.

The conservative group said the Senate bill would actually “restore” ObamaCare by creating new mandates and imposing taxes.

“Only in Washington does repeal translate to restore,” Club for Growth President David McIntosh said in a statement. “Because that’s exactly what the Senate GOP healthcare bill does: it restores Obamacare.

{mosads}“And while it’s hard to imagine, in some ways the Senate’s legislation would make our nation’s failing healthcare system worse,” he said.

Outside conservative groups have been cool to the Senate bill, which could face a procedural vote on Wednesday. But most of the groups have held their fire so far.

McIntosh said the Club for Growth will support the bill’s passage if it makes three changes: allow insurers that sell ObamaCare plans to sell other plans that don’t comply with ObamaCare requirements or allow states to opt out of all ObamaCare regulations, allow people to pay for premiums with health savings accounts (HSAs), and repeal all ObamaCare taxes. 

“Absent these reasonable changes to drive down the cost of premiums and provide consumers with more choices and more freedom, the Club for Growth will oppose the ‘Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017,’” McIntosh said.

Four conservatives senators, Ron Johnson (Wis.), Mike Lee (Utah), Ted Cruz (Texas) and Rand Paul (Ky.), have all said they don’t support the bill in its current form.