Sen. James Lankford said Thursday he was a solid undecided after Republican leaders in his chamber presented their plan to repeal and replace Obamacare.
Sen. James Lankford said Thursday that he was a « solid undecided » after Republican leaders in his chamber presented their plan to repeal and replace Obamacare.
« It’s 142 pages of text, but there’s things piled into that text that we’ve got to decipher.
« Put me down as a solid undecided, » Lankford said. « I’m quite confident we will have quite a few suggestions over the weekend. »
Lankford, who is in his first term, was among many GOP members voicing a wide range of concerns on the Senate’s draft of the American Health Care Act.
The legislation was unveiled after weeks of work in secrecy by a 13-member group headed by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, also of Kentucky.
« I’ve identified about six areas where I have problems and suggestions, » Lankford told Tapper. « None of those are show-stoppers, but things there are problems we need to fix before we get this into law. »
One concern was that the healthcare plan raises the number of Americans receiving Medicaid, not lowering it.
« There is no cut in Medicaid, » Lankford said. « In fact, there’s a pretty dramatic increase in Medicaid over the next eight years.
« And eight years from now, there’s a reduction in the growth.
« So, right now, Medicaid is growing at a much lower rate, around 2 percent or so. This increases Medicaid spending to about 3.5 to 4 percent a year.
« It’s a dramatic increase in Medicaid for multiple years out and then slows down the growth at some point. »
Other Republicans were cautious on the Senate bill, emphasizing they were evaluating the legislation.
« I will carefully review this legislation to ensure that if it were to become law, it would be beneficial to the people of South Carolina, » Sen. Lindsey Graham said.
« I would prefer to address healthcare reform in a bipartisan manner, but Democrats are unwilling to work with President [Donald] Trump and Congressional Republicans to fix the mess they created. »
Ohio Sen. Rob Portman said « I look forward to examining this new proposal carefully and reviewing the analysis by the Congressional Budget Office when it is available.
« If the final legislation is good for Ohio, I will support it, » he added. « If not, I will oppose it. »
Nevada Sen. Dean Heller said he had « serious concerns about the bill’s impact on the Nevadans who depend on Medicaid.
« As I have consistently stated, » Heller added, « if the bill is good for Nevada, I’ll vote for it and if it’s not – I won’t. »
Others, still, took to Twitter:
Closely reviewing Senate healthcare plan – any bill must ensure Arizonans have access to affordable & flexible care https: //t.co/E4Yj1GJNXk
My statement on the discussion draft of the Senate health care legislation: pic.twitter.com/DhTnBmyiwa
My statement on the discussion draft of the Senate healthcare bill: pic.twitter.com/xRlwejEkwB
