May 02, 2017 11:30 AM UTC

Buck, Coffman Emerge as Swing Votes in Trumpcare 2.0

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• by: Colorado Pols

TUESDAY UPDATE: Concerns over the status of “pre-existing conditions” in the latest version of Trumpcare is costing Congressional Republicans the support of key moderates. From the Washington Post:

The revamped Republican push for a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s health-care system ran into a new roadblock on Tuesday when a key lawmaker, Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), said he would vote against the current proposal.

In an interview with WHTC radio in Holland, Mich., Upton, a former chairman and current member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said he could not support the latest version of the House GOP plan because he does not believe it does enough to protect people with preexisting medical conditions — a growing concern among Republicans.

“This amendment torpedoes that, and I told the leadership I cannot support the bill with this provision in it,” Upton said. “I don’t know how it all will play out but I know there are a good number of us that have raised real red flags.”

Upton’s comments came the day after Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.), a longtime opponent of the federal health-care law known as Obamacare, came out against the current Republican plan to repeal and replace key parts of it — also citing concerns about preexisting conditions.

Here’s a list of pre-existing conditions in Colorado that might not be covered under the current iteration of Trumpcare.

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Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Congressional Republicans are having trouble finding the votes to support another legislative repeal/replacement of Obamacare — or “Trumpcare 2.0.” From CNN:

The White House and congressional Republicans are in serious danger of not having enough votes to pass their health care bill.

Several Republicans have come out Monday against the current measure to repeal and replace Obamacare, bringing CNN’s whip count to 21 Republicans — mostly moderates — opposed to the bill with another dozen lawmakers still undecided.

And President Donald Trump, whose White House was optimistic the House could pass a bill Wednesday, once again muddied the waters by suggesting the measure may still be changed.

“I want it to be good for sick people. It’s not in its final form right now,” he said during an Oval Office interview Monday with Bloomberg News. “It will be every bit as good on pre-existing conditions as Obamacare.”

Over the weekend there were a plethora of national stories about how Republicans and the White House were feeling good about potentially reaching the number of required “YES” votes in order to push Trumpcare 2.0 to a vote on the House floor. That enthusiasm has apparently begun to wane.

According to a detailed whip count from The Hill, two Colorado Republicans could play a pivotal role in the fate of this latest health care bill. The Hill lists Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Aurora) as a current ‘NO’ vote, with Rep. Ken Buck (R-Greeley) listed as a ‘YES’ on the proposed bill. This marks an interesting change from mid-March, when Coffman was a 100% supporter of Trumpcare and Buck was — well, Buck was all over the place.

We’d attempt to read the political tea leaves here, but since both Coffman and Buck have hunkered down on all sides of the debate over the last few months, your guess is as good as ours.