Rep. Chris Smith joined a faction of 19 other Republicans to vote against the revamped American Health Care Act May 4. The bill narrowly passed the House of Representatives, 217-213.
Smith—whose district includes Hamilton and Robbinsville—went against his party and President Donald Trump to voice concern with the legislation, which guts most of Obamacare.
“I voted no on the AHCA largely because it cuts Medicaid funding by $839 billion; undercuts essential health benefits such as maternity care, newborn care, hospitalization and pediatric services; includes ‘per capita caps’ and weakens coverage for pre-existing health conditions—all of which will hurt disabled persons (especially and including children and adults with autism), the elderly and the working poor,” Smith said in a statement. “Over the past several years, we have seen the flaws of Obamacare, including increased premiums and deductibles, diminishing healthcare options and patients losing plans they were assured they could keep. These very real problems underscore the need for meaningful bipartisan reform.”
Twenty Republicans and all 193 Democrats in the House voted against the bill, which now heads to the Senate for deliberation.
This is the second version of AHCA. Republicans had to pull the original bill in March due to lack of support; Smith also came out against that version. An analysis by the Congressional Budget Office estimated 14 million more people would be uninsured under the pulled legislation than under current law. A poll by Quinnipiac University showed only 17 percent of Americans approved of the first bill.
The House of Representatives voted on the revised bill before the CBO could update its study. In its analysis, released May 24, the CBO said 23 million more people would be uninsured a decade from now under the bill passed by the House than under current law.
Rep. Chris Smith was one of 20 Republicans to vote against the revised American Health Care Act. The measure passed narrowly, 217–213.,
