The New Republican Strategy to Replace Obamacare: QuickTake Q&A

After an embarrassing failure in March, President Donald Trump is pushing fellow Republicans in the U.S. Congress to try again to replace his predecessor’s health-care reform, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare. Their bill, the American Health Care Act, was pulled after Republican leaders failed to gain enough support because conservative and moderate factions couldn’t agree. Hopes for passage now rest on an amendment that would give states flexibility to loosen ACA regulations -- and on a last-minute addition of $8 billion to help people with pre-existing health conditions. It’s unclear if the changes will win enough backing. Adding to the urgency, insurers continue to scale back their participation in Obamacare, worried about financial losses.

Republican representatives Mark Meadows, leader of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, and Tom MacArthur, a leader in the moderate Tuesday Group, negotiated an amendment that has at least brought the conservatives on board. It lets individual states decide for themselves whether to keep certain consumer protections in Obamacare, or drop them to save money. In a bid for more support from moderates, Representative Fred Upton, a Michigan Republican, proposed offering $8 billion over five years to help people with pre-existing conditions pay health insurance premiums.