Political Pressure May be Bringing GOP Health Care Plan Back to Life

These include the party's increasingly impatient conservative base, incumbents' nightmares about primary challenges and wrathful presidential tweetstorms

NATIONAL — A brew of political pressures is pumping fresh life into the last-gasp Republican drive to erase the Obama health care overhaul.

These include the party’s increasingly impatient conservative base, incumbents’ nightmares about primary challenges and wrathful presidential tweetstorms.

The new GOP bill by Sens. Bill Cassidy and Lindsey Graham would shift health care money and power from Washington to states.

That’s a natural fit for many Republicans.

“Under Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson, more people will have coverage and we protect those with preexisting conditions,” Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said.

But House Minoritiy Leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, believes the bill is blowing smoke.

“This bill, they’ve really outdone themselves, really outdone themselves,” Rep. Pelosi said. “It almost says we don’t care what’s in the bill, we just want to have a bill.”

Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky appeared to agree.

“I promised the voters for repeal but this bill actually keeps the Obamacare spending and just redistributes it among the states,” Sen. Paul said.

Two months ago, the Senate rejected the GOP’s last effort to repeal Obamacare.

Sen. Hoeven said he is “supportive” of new legislation that would undo the Obama health law.

The North Dakota Republican said in a statement that the bill, among other things, “appears” to give the state “more funding to help low-income individuals access health insurance.”

Gov. Burgum was among 15 governors who signed a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday supporting the block grant program to states as the “best option on the table for repealing and replacing Obamacare.”