A trio of Republican committee chairmen will immediately get to work on drafting the party’s ObamaCare backup plan, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced Friday.
The working group is forming one day after McCarthy announced the House would vote next week to fully repeal ObamaCare, marking the first repeal vote of the GOP-controlled Congress.
McCarthy said Friday that the party “recognizes that full repeal requires a thoughtful replacement strategy.”
The group, which includes Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), will also be charged with creating a “contingency plan” to prepare for a looming Supreme Court decision that could undo Obamacare subsidies in 34 states.
The case, King v. Burwell, was a major point of discussion during the Republican party’s joint retreat in Hershey, Pa., earlier this month. The court challenge has prompted new criticism of the GOP for lacking a comprehensive ObamaCare backup plan. One Senate GOP aide said recently the party lacks “any coherent response” to the case.
