Reichert Under Pressure From Trump, Constituents On Obamacare Repeal

ISSAQUAH, WA - President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and House Speaker Paul Ryan have all personally spoken to U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Issaquah, about voting for a new plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, according to Reichert's spokesperson. However, Reichert has not committed to voting for the new measure. In a statement, Reichert said that he is still reviewing the newest proposal.

"My priorities for health care reform remain the same. Any new plan must protect our communities’ most vulnerable, including patients with preexisting conditions, while offering families more affordable choices that meet their needs. I am currently reviewing the updated bill to determine if it meets these criteria," Reichert said in the statement Wednesday morning, according to spokeswoman Breanna Deutsch.

Meanwhile, Reichert is under pressure from constituents to vote against any version of an Obamacare repeal. Protesters from Indivisible groups around Reichert's district have been calling and meeting with the congressman for months about Obamacare repeal, specifically. On Thursday, constituents will rally outside Reichert's Issaquah and Wenatchee offices to urge him to vote against Obamacare repeal.

The Trump administration has been trying this week to sway moderate Republicans to vote for a new plan to replace Obamacare. The issue of making sure people with preexisting conditions can still get health insurance is the latest sticking point over the replacement. Under Obamacare (its more formal title is the Affordable Care Act), health insurance companies are not allowed to deny someone health insurance because of a preexisting condition.

Under the Republican's new replacement, health insurers would be allowed to charge higher premiums to people with preexisting conditions; and states would be able to decide whether to keep the preexisting conditions rule in place. But on Wednesday, several key House Republicans - notably Fred Upton of Michigan - said that they would support the new replacement. That's because the Trump administration is promising to provide $8 billion over five years for people with preexisting conditions.

However, the latest repeal-and-replace plan would still gut Obamacare's mandate on preexisting conditions.

Reichert told the Seattle Times on Tuesday that he spoke to Trump for about 10 minutes, but told the president that he is "not there yet" on voting for the replacement.

According to the New York Times count of House votes for the replacement, U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Vancouver, is also a solid "no" vote. The Times lists Reichert as "undecided or unclear." If there are 23 or more House Republicans in the "no" camp, the latest Obamacare replacement will fail. Right now, there are 19 solid "no" votes and 30 "undecided."

The last effort to replace Obamacare in March failed.

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