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May 02, 2017 11:30 AM UTC

Buck, Coffman Emerge as Swing Votes in Trumpcare 2.0

  • 11 Comments
  • 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.

—–

Trumpcare 2.0

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.

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11 thoughts on “Buck, Coffman Emerge as Swing Votes in Trumpcare 2.0”

  2. Buck will easily survive a "Yes" vote in that CD. Hell, he'd probably be in more trouble if he voted "No" on TrumpCare 2.0.

    As for Coffman, he may want to call Betsy Markey for some career counseling on the ramification of voting contrary to the wishes of most of the voters in your district.

    1. He'll survive a "yes" vote unless Trumpcare 2.0 passes, in which case young couples and cranky old sick people will join their voices to the disgruntled progressives pestering him to take a stand against the AHCA.

      Rural hospitals will begin closing and cutting back hours, people with pre-existing conditions (like Buck, the cancer survivor) will find themselves in a high risk pool paying upwards of $20,000 / year if they can do it, and forget abortion…..DonTcare will strip the mandate for coverage for maternity care and mental health care. In the quest to save some pennies, we would have more unwanted pregnancies, more abortions, more untreated mental illness – what could possibly go wrong?

      Hmmm. Eliminate maternity and prenatal care – how’s that “pro-life” thing working out for ya, anyway?

      But we could depend on the soft hearts and unselfish natures of insurance companies to take care of us. Older adults, especially those nearing retirement age, would take a big hit.

      Bucko did OK with a relatively genteel audience of progressives when he showed up at a Longmont town hall. I can't imagine him doing that well with young couples who now lack maternity coverage, or cranky aging boomers whose costs just tripled. Pity the fools, but they believed Trump's promises. They're not going to like Ken Buck telling them that being poor and sick is their contribution to making America grate again. Especially since he, his family, and his staff get to keep Obamacare, and not trade down. That isn't going to sit well in Weld County.

      So Bucko shouldn't count on his base being forgetful and stupid….I don't think that the "blame Obama" thing will work this time.

      1. Oh, Mama, I think you give most of CD 4 voters more credit than they deserve. As for Buck being a cancer survivor, members of Congress will not be required to participate in Trump Care 2.0.

      2. MJ:

        Buck's base is not forgetful or stupid.

        The 30-35% who will vote for the Dem are, but they are not his base.

        Buck has nothing to worry about if he votes yes.  

        He would be inviting a primary if he voted no.

        Buck is politically middle of the road in his district.  He is safer moving further right than left.

  3. Does anyone know which way Tipton will jump? He's not on the no, yes, or undecided whip count from CNN or The Hill. 

    He was unsuccessfully trying to cover all bases at his recent town hall in Pueblo. He had a lot of trouble with simple “Yes or No?” questions.

    He writes that he wants the high risk pools to be “affordable” for those with pre-existing conditions. If so, he can’t vote for the AHCA in its present form.

    He thinks that health savings accounts will save the day. Not.

    Do we have to play "Where's Scotty?" again? Is he trying to quietly sneak out the back without voting? Is the smarm failing?

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