The Future Of Healthcare: Obamacare Replacement Bill Rejected By Conservatives

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, urged House Republicans not to vote Thursday on their proposed Obamacare replacement plan as conservatives said the American Health Care Act likely does not have enough votes to pass.

President Donald Trump Tuesday headed to Capitol Hill for an arm-twisting session, warning the congressmen failure to adopt the AHCA will not only blow his legislative agenda but threaten their political careers.

More than two dozen GOP lawmakers remain opposed to the measure, derisively dubbed “Obamacare-lite,” meaning there are not enough votes to pass it in the face of unanimous Democratic opposition, the Washington Post reported.

Read: Obamacare Replacement Defended By Paul Ryan, Tom Price

Opponents of the bill include conservatives who wanted it to go further in dismantling the Affordable Care Act and moderates who fear it goes too far, endangering the health of their constituents.

Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and House Speaker Paul Ryan have said the AHCA is just the first step in a three-step process for reforming the U.S. healthcare system. Trump has pledged to provide health insurance for everyone at lower cost than currently available. Conservatives are opposed to a three-step plan and want the entire package offered at once.

“I am strongly, strongly persuaded that it is not going to pass. I think they should cancel the vote because they don't have the votes,” Lee said on Fox News.

Read: Senators Predict Defeat Of 'Obamacare-Lite'

“The fact remains, they don't have the votes to pass this. They need to bring people and who have concerns, bring in conservatives, let them express what their concerns are. We can still fix this.”

Lee, describing the bill as containing “false promise of providing Americans with meaningful healthcare cost relief,” said Trump’s plan to repeal Obamacare has bee “hijacked by people who don’t share his values, by people who don’t share his desire to repeal Obamacare.”

Lee is one of six Republican senators who have said they would not vote for the AHCA, making Senate passage impossible.

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., head of the House Freedom Caucus, said conservatives are not convinced they could lose their seats if they oppose the measure.

"We are standing firm as the only group of conservatives left in the United States Congress,” said Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., told the Hill.