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Hultgren questions GOP health plan hours before crucial vote

With a vote to repeal Obamacare hours away, one suburban Republican congressman wants changes to the GOP's replacement plan, warning its current form could jeopardize health care for children.

U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren of Plano on Wednesday urged House leaders to correct provisions in the American Health Care Act that “would adversely and unfairly affect the state of Illinois.”

“From where I sit, the American Health Care Act as written would stop funding health care for thousands of children, only to obtain minuscule cost savings and trigger loss of coverage for kids who lack the resources and experience to get it elsewhere,” Hultgren wrote to House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, who crafted the new policy.

Meanwhile Wheaton Republican Peter Roskam, who voted for the bill previously, is waiting to see if possible tweaks emerge Wednesday from a House Rules Committee session, although it's unlikely he would oppose the measure.

Roskam “supported repealing the tax provisions at the Ways and Means Committee and strongly supports repealing and replacing Obamacare. We're following the developments closely and he will make a determination whether or not to vote once we see what the final bill looks like,” Roskam spokesman David Pasch said.

Every vote is crucial to House Republicans and President Donald Trump, who campaigned on eliminating Obamacare.

But pushback in lawmakers' districts from constituents fearful of losing medical coverage has caused the must-have GOP legislative victory to swing in the balance and triggered a last-minute, high-pressure blitz for votes by Trump and party leaders.

The replacement bill's Medicaid funding formula as written is particularly damaging for Illinois, Hultgren said, noting that there are 40,000 children in his 14th District that depend on Medicaid to pay for doctor visits and other health needs. The large district swings around the outer suburbs.

Illinois could lose $40 billion in federal Medicaid funding over 10 years with the Republican plan, experts told state lawmakers last week. About 650,000 people enrolled in Medicaid under Obamacare but the AHCA aims to shrink the expansion.

Another concern is a proposed cap on federal funding that Hultgren thinks could put Illinois at a disadvantage if the policy is not altered.

“Illinois has a larger, more medically complex Medicaid population than its Midwest neighbors and many other states across the country, but its enrollees would be treated as if their health needs are less important just because of where they live,” Hultgren said.

Hultgren has not said how he would vote on the bill. Illinois' Democratic delegation, which includes suburban U.S. Reps. Bill Foster of Naperville, Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg, Jan Schakowsky of Evanston, Brad Schneider of Deerfield and Mike Quigley of Chicago, is solidly against the plan.

Gov. Bruce Rauner of Winnetka, a Republican, called Obamacare flawed and applauded his party for trying to improve it.

But he said “I'm very troubled, very worried about changes coming to Medicaid,” at an event Tuesday.

Previously, Roskam said the bill empowers Americans. “We're providing monthly tax credits for low- and middle-income individuals and families. We're expanding access to health savings accounts,” he said.

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