Health bill highlights divide between governors, House GOP
CARSON CITY, Nev. — Republican governors complain that a GOP proposal to replace former President Barack Obama’s health care law would force millions of lower-income earners off insurance rolls or stick states with the cost of keeping them covered.
Governors, especially those from political battleground states, were generally cool to the bill put forth in the Republican-controlled U.S. House. Some signalled that they would continue working on their own legislation to compete with the measure introduced Monday.
“We’ve said all along, ‘Work with the governors,’ that it should be a governor-led effort and for the Congress to rely on the governors,” Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval said Tuesday. “Well, they came out with their own bill, which doesn’t include anything that the governors have talked about.”
Republican governors lead 33 states, across all regions, and represent states pivotal to President Donald Trump’s victory in November, including much of the upper Midwest. Their role in the health care debate could influence the biggest public policy changes this year and help determine the party’s future.