More Republicans Unsure of GOP Plan to Repeal ACA Without Replacing It

Republican leaders are moving full steam ahead on their efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, despite discontent among rank-and-file Members. To help you keep track, we released a handy document of House and Senate Republicans who oppose their leadership’s plan repeal the ACA without a replacement. Today, you can add House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions and Rep. Charlie Dent to the list of those who think this is a bad idea. From CQ:

“Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania told reporters Tuesday he and several of his Tuesday Group colleagues have ‘reservations about dealing with the budget resolution this week’ because Republican leaders' health care replacement plan ‘has not yet been well defined.’ The Tuesday Group is an informal group of moderate Republicans.”

“House Rules Chairman Pete Sessions, R-Texas, told CQ he wants more detail in a health care replacement plan. ‘I am very much in line with the members who have been to a good number of meetings that still fail to comprehend and understand where we are headed,’ Sessions said, adding that he hopes GOP leaders will listen and respond.”

In addition, we wanted to be sure you saw two new reports from the Council of Economic Advisors and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services undermining Republican attacks on the ACA. From the Wall Street Journal:

“A report from the Council of Economic Advisers asserts that the premium increases for 2017 were a one-time event and will return to sustainable levels.”

“A separate report released Tuesday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services shows sign-ups for coverage on the health law’s exchanges are eclipsing last year’s pace.”

“As of late December 2016, 11.5 million people were signed up for exchange coverage for 2017—an increase of almost 300,000 relative to the comparable period last year, according to the report.”