Rep. Gary Palmer hopes risk-sharing program can help Freedom Caucus ‘push the yes button’ – Washington Examiner

Ever since the American Health Care Act stalled out, Republicans have been trying to kick start the reform again. On Thursday, Speaker Ryan backed a proposal to create a $15 billion federal high-risk pool for people with pre-existing conditions.

It's the first official change to the bill so far, one that Ryan is confident will bring the divided GOP conference closer to the finish line. The amendment's author, Rep. Gary Palmer of Alabama, agrees and is encouraging his Freedom Caucus colleagues to get on board.

"I think this bill has become demonstrably better since the day it was first introduced," Palmer said during an interview with the Washington Examiner. "And I'm hoping that the Freedom Caucus will find a way to get to yes."

Modeled after a successful program instituted in the state of Maine, Palmer predicts that a national risk sharing program would reduce premiums and keep those with pre-existing conditions covered. "It's a way to make good on some promises that we made," he explains. According to a new study commissioned by the Foundation for Government Accountability, Palmer has reason to be optimistic.

That report predicts that premiums could drop by between 12 and 31 percent while simultaneously reducing the number of uninsured by as many as 2.2 million.

In broad strokes, here's how it would work. First the program identifies individuals who are driving up the cost of premiums because of pre-existing conditions. Then, unbeknownst to that enrollee, federal dollars subsidize their insurance while allowing the company to underwrite them as if they were healthy.

The program is not dissimilar to Obamacare's reinsurance program, which attempted to help insurance companies recoup high costs. And despite that likeness, Republican leadership hopes it will bridge a longstanding divide inside the conference.

Centrists complained that the GOP Obamacare overhaul doesn't do enough to protect those with preexisting conditions. At the same time, conservatives said it didn't do enough to repeal the law. The risk sharing program presumably would allow Republicans to repeal more of Obamacare without leaving the sick more vulnerable.

The idea enjoys widespread support inside the conference, according to Palmer, who's "hoping that when we get back from Easter, we'll be ready to do something." But while Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, R-N.C., welcomed the change, he insisted more changes were in order.

Also from the Washington Examiner

"It was planned as a one-strike mission," Sen. Ben Cardin, of Maryland.

04/07/17 8:39 PM

Splitting with Meadows, Palmer plans to vote for the bill. "For those not there yet, I say keep working," he explained. "But at some point everyone's going to have to put their card in the slot and make decision. I'd be comfortable telling someone to push the yes button."

Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.

Read the rest here:

Rep. Gary Palmer hopes risk-sharing program can help Freedom Caucus 'push the yes button' - Washington Examiner