WASHINGTON – The House GOP narrowly passed a bill on Thursday to repeal Obamacare health insurance, prompting Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner to warn that thousands in Illinois could lose coverage if the measure pushed by his party becomes law.
All Illinois House members voting on partisan lines: the Democrats opposed and all Republicans backed the measure heading to an uncertain fate in then Senate.
There was some drama before the vote over how the GOP holdouts will vote, with three of the undecided Republicans from Illinois.
All three – Reps. Peter Roskam; Randy Hultgren and Adam Kinzinger – voted yes.
The legislation was approved on a 217-213 roll call, with 216 votes needed to pass.
All 193 Democrats were no votes; 20 Republicans broke ranks to vote no.
As President Donald Trump was celebrating the House win in the White House Rose Garden, Rauner said in a statement, “The bill that passed in the U.S. House today continues to be of deep concern to our administration. Recent changes did not address fundamental concerns about the bill’s impact on the 650,000 individuals that are part of our Medicaid expansion population, nor have those changes eased the concerns of the 350,000 people in the individual market who are dealing with skyrocketing premiums and fewer choices. We will continue to voice our concerns as the law moves to the Senate.”
“The Affordable Care Act is a seriously flawed law that should be changed. Difficult as the task has proven, we are hopeful that our federal lawmakers will continue to work hard to get this right for the people of Illinois and our nation.”
As the House vote was wrapping up, and as it became clear the health care insurance measure would pass, House Democrats on the floor in the chamber broke out in song: ‘Nana na hey hey kiss him goodbye.”
The potential of the Republican drafted legislation to reduce Obamacare pre-existing condition coverage has been a major issue.
Trump failed to pass an Obamacare repeal last month and had been pushing the House to try again.
