How Tennessee Congressmen Voted On Obamacare Repeal

Tennessee’s Republican congressmen all supported the repeal and replacement of Obamacare, which passed the U.S. House Thursday. 

Scott DesJarlais was the state’s lone GOP holdout in the first anticipated vote, six weeks ago. But the member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus changed his mind with the amended American Health Care Act. In particular, he wanted waivers that would allow states to opt out of certain federal requirements, including covering pre-existing conditions.

Today,
@HouseGOP voted to pass the
#AHCA, fulfilling the promises we made to repeal Obamacare. My full statement:
https://t.co/USQQlcMQpI— Scott DesJarlais (@DesJarlaisTN04)
May 4, 2017

Opponents of the bill take issue with what will be lost and say the vote was rushed. The revised measure did not include an updated cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office. Brentwood Congressman Marsha Blackburn
told NPR’s Here & Now that doesn’t worry her.

“I’m less concerned about having a CBO score every time we have an amendment added than I am of getting this process moving along so that the Senate can take up our bill so that we can begin to get this law off the books,” she said.

Speaking ahead of the Thursday’s vote, Republican Congressman Phil Roe of East Tennessee praised the new measure.

He said it would lift the healthcare burden of his state, where some counties have only one insurer on the federal marketplace exchange. And he argued the bill would not hurt veterans, as opponents claim. 

“This bill isn’t perfect, but it’s a huge improvement over Obamacare and worthy of every member’s support,” he said.

Statement from Chairman Diane Black on Passage of the American Health Care Act:
https://t.co/CxLjN48Gzu
pic.twitter.com/cMijawGiUl— House Budget GOP (@housebudgetGOP)
May 4, 2017

In a statement, Roe also said the bill was years in the making.

But critics like Congressman Steve Cohen (D-Memphis) says there wasn’t enough “time to analyze the flurry of last-minute changes.”

Nashville Democrat Jim Cooper called the passage a “national tragedy.” He’s organized a Friday morning press conference with health care leaders to try and stop the American Health Care Act in the Senate.

“Congress will regret the vote,” he said in a statement. “I pray the Senate will reject this reckless plan.”

Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander chairs the chamber’s Health Committee and will play a key role. He says they’ll now finish work on their version of the legislation, “but will take the time to get it right.”