the bully pulpit and old-reliable Twitter.
"The
ObamaCare nightmare is about to end,” Pence said at a business routable in
Kentucky, with protesters outside the venue and as the GOP replacement bill
moves through the House and heads toward the Senate. “Here are the
heartbreaking facts: Today, Americans are paying $3,000 more a year on average
for health insurance since the day ObamaCare was signed into law.”
Kentucky has
emerged as a battleground in the early efforts by Trump and GOP House
leadership to pass the American Health Care Act, with Republican Sen. Rand Paul
helping lead conservative opposition to the bill, introduced Monday.
“Kentucky is a
textbook example of ObamaCare’s failures,” said Pence, citing premium increases
in the state as high as 27 percent and Louisville-based Humana Inc. planning to
exit Kentucky's ObamaCare exchange next year.
Trump and
practically every elected Washington Republican campaigned on a promise to
repeal and replace ObamaCare.
Former
President Obama’s signature health care law has insured roughly 11 million
Americans since its 2010 inception but some Americans have since struggled with
rising premiums and dwindling policy options.
“We are making
great progress with healthcare,” Trump tweeted Saturday morning.
He also used
the presidential weekly address this weekend to make his case.
"Seven
years ago this month, ObamaCare was signed into law over the profound
objections of the American people,” said Trump, who plans to rally support next
week at a stop in Nashville, Tennessee. “House Republicans have put forward a plan
that gets rid of this terrible law and replaces it with reforms that empower
states and consumers."
To be sure,
Trump, known for his real estate and international deal-making before becoming
president, realizes that getting the replacement bill to his desk for signature
will require backing on several fronts -- including support from the most
conservative members of his party.
Since the bill
was released earlier this week, Trump has hosted key GOP committee leaders at
the White House and had dinner Wednesday with conservative firebrand Texas
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. Trump has also invited members of the House Freedom
Caucus, a conservative wing of the Republican House, to the White House for
bowling and pizza.
While House
Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., should get the minimum 218 House votes to move the
bill to the Senate, Trump and fellow Republican leaders in Congress have
essential no chance of garnering any Democratic support.
“Tonight,
Republicans revealed a Make America Sick Again bill,” House Minority Leader
Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said after the GOP House leaders released
their replacement bill.
Opposition by
elected Democrats has been outmatch only perhaps by voters, who have pounded
congressional Republicans at recent town hall events over concerns about losing
health insurance as a result of repeal and replace efforts.
After
releasing their long-sought bill, House Republicans this week swiftly pushed it
through two key committees.
They hope to
pass the legislation in the full House during the week of March 20, then send
it to the Senate where it would need support of 51 of 52 Senate Republicans to
reach Trump’s desk for signature.
Meanwhile,
Democrats are accusing Republicans of trying to rush the bill through Congress
before the public can figure out what it does. And they say the GOP should at
least wait until the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office releases its
report, which could come by Monday.
The GOP
legislation would eliminate the current mandate that nearly all people in the
United States carry insurance or face fines.
And it would
use tax credits to allow consumers to buy health coverage, expand health
savings accounts, phase out an expansion of Medicaid and cap that program for
the future, end some requirements for health plans under Obama's law, and scrap
a number of taxes.
Conservatives
argue that the legislation doesn't do enough to uproot ObamaCare. And some
Republicans accuse Ryan and fellow House GOP leaders of moving too quickly.
Democrats paid
a price for their lengthy process in passing the bill. As the months dragged
on, public opposition grew. Over Congress' August recess in 2009, that rage
overflowed at similar town halls, which helped spawn the Tea Party movement
that gave the GOP control of the House the next year.
The
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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