House Freedom Caucus chairman: We'll back the latest ObamaCare replacement if the changes Pence told us about are in the bill

Potentially very good news here, even if it did have to come at an event sponsored by the Worst Web Site in the World. I'll let Mark Meadows tell you himself: The idea that appears to be so promising is offering waivers to states on "essential health benefits." That's one of the ObamaCare elements that has caused premiums to rise so much - the idea that every policy must cover a defined list of services that many people might not choose for their policies if they had the choice.

.@RepMarkMeadows tells @JakeSherman & @apalmerdc the majority of the Freedom Caucus could support the health care bill #PlaybookInterview pic.twitter.com/cRAlIicClg

— POLITICO Playbook (@playbookplus) April 6, 2017

I've disagreed throughout this process with the House Freedom Caucus on their strategies, but for the most part not on their actual ideas. And this is a good idea. It gives people the freedom to buy only as much coverage as they want, and no more, and to save money on their premiums by not having to buy the gold standard in coverage when they would prefer to pay for something less than that. Pence has been working with the HFC behind the scenes, and while the media has been suggesting the talks are going nowhere, this comment from Meadows tells a very different story. And it's significant that Meadows flat-out says, in a public venue, that if Pence's changes are in the bill the HFC members will vote for it. Why? Because during talks on the initial AHCA the HFC members had a habit of making demands, getting their demands met, and then turning around and making new demands. That's the behavior of people who are looking for an excuse not to vote in favor, not of people who are looking for a way to get on board. Of course, there is still the question of whether House moderates can get behind the bill, and of what it's fate might be in the Senate. Letting the states decide on the waivers hardly strikes me as an extreme right-wing idea, but you never know what might happen when the left-wing outrage machine starts working up its own characterizations of the bill. Either way, nothing positive is going to happen if the HFC won't get on board, so this is a very hopeful sign. Let's have more like it.

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