Key House GOPers Sign On To O’Care Repeal After Proposing Own Amendment

Reps. Billy Long, R-Mo., second from right, speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, May 3, 2017, following a meeting with President Donald Trump on health care reform. He is joined by, from left, Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, and Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Rep. Billy Long, R-Mo., second from right, speaks to reporters outside the White House in Washington, Wednesday, May 3, 2017, following a meeting with President Donald Trump on health care reform. From left are, Rep.... Rep. Billy Long, R-Mo., second from right, speaks to reporters outside the White House in Washington, Wednesday, May 3, 2017, following a meeting with President Donald Trump on health care reform. From left are, Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) MORE LESS
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After proposing their own amendment to the House GOP bill to repeal Obamacare and huddling with President Donald Trump, two key Republican members who had opposed the bill announced Wednesday that they will now support the legislation.

Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) and Rep. Billy Long (R-MO) emerged from a meeting with the President to tell reporters at the White House that they’re now comfortable backing the American Health Care Act.

“I think it is likely now to pass in the House,” Upton told reporters, according to Bloomberg News.

Upton and Long surprised Republicans earlier in the week when they came out against the bill because of an amendment offered by moderate Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-NJ). That amendment, which prompted the House Freedom Caucus to officially support the AHCA, would allow states to apply for waivers from certain Obamacare mandates.

The MacArthur amendment was met with skepticism from other moderate Republicans who were worried about the impact the waivers could have on coverage for Americans with pre-existing conditions, however.

The amendment proposed by Upton and Long would secure an additional $8 billion to cover people with pre-existing conditions, according to Politico.

In a statement to Politico, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) said Upton and Long “will find broad support” for their amendment in the House Freedom Caucus.

But it’s not yet clear that the AHCA will maintain enough conservative votes and gain enough moderate votes to pass in the House with this addition.

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