In an announcement on Wednesday, the House's right-wing Freedom Caucus said it has agreed to back the revised version of the Republican healthcare plan, the Hill reports.
After first helping to sink the original Republican healthcare bill, known as the American Health Care Act (AHCA), the group of ultra-conservative House members decided to lodge its support behind the bill following a few changes. Lawmakers managed to appease the group after tacking on the MacArthur-Meadows amendment, which essentially lets states opt out of certain Obamacare rules.
Under the new amendment, states can choose to offer high-risk pools, and decide whether or not they want insurers to cover some services like maternity care, preventative visits, or mental health benefits, the Associated Press reports. States would have to apply for federal waivers if they wanted to skip out on some of the existing Obamacare provisions. Although the amendment offers states a bit more flexibility, Freedom Caucus members admit that, for them, it still doesn't go far enough.
"While the revised version still does not fully repeal Obamacare, we are prepared to support it to keep our promise to the American people to lower healthcare costs," the group said in a statement. "We look forward to working with our Senate colleagues to improve the bill. Our work will continue until we fully repeal Obamacare."
The Freedom Caucus boasts roughly three dozen members, giving the bill a boost toward the 216 House votes it needs to move to the Senate. However, the new amendment isn't likely to garner a ton of support from moderate Republicans, many of whom are still against the AHCA and concerned with how it could allow states to weaken protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
"The amendment doesn't address the things that I had concerns about—the things I think are detrimental to the people I represent," Rep. Dan Donovan, a centrist from New York, told Politico.
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