Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said Tuesday that the administration and congressional Republican leaders will “work through” conservative opposition to the GOP’s bill to repeal and replace Obamacare.
“The president and the administration support this step, in what we believe is in the right direction,” Mr. Price told reporters at the White House. “This is a work in progress.”
Asked about some conservative lawmakers opposing tax credits to pay for health-insurance subsidies, Mr. Price said the bill is “a starting point.”
“We’ll work through it,” he said. “This is about patients, at the end of the day. This isn’t about politicians.”
The secretary was standing next to a table bearing copies of the Obamacare legislation and the repeal/replace bill, with the Obamacare stack of papers dwarfing the new legislation.
Mr. Price said the administration will comb through Obamacare to eliminate burdensome and unnecessary regulations, as Congress works to approve the new measure. He said Obamacare’s rising costs and high deductibles aren’t working for individuals and the small-group market.
“You’ve got an insurance card, but you don’t have care,” he said.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.