GOP weighs Obamacare alternatives

WASHINGTON — With Republicans in control of Congress and a fresh challenge to President Obama's health care law before the Supreme Court, the GOP is under renewed pressure to present a legislative alternative to Obamacare if the court rules against the law.

"We're meeting together on a regular basis," said Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., a physician and member of the Senate leadership who is part of a group of GOP lawmakers working on an alternative. "What we've been saying is Republicans are going to protect the people hurt by the law, but not protect the law."

Republicans want the Supreme Court to rule against the law, but doing so could result in millions of Americans losing access to health care if tax credits that help them pay for coverage are eliminated, creating an immediate issue for Congress to address.

Since 2011, Republicans have tried and failed more than 60 times to repeal or defund Obamacare, but the party has never offered a legislative alternative for how to cover more Americans.

In a series of op-eds this week, top Republicans outlined the contours of a GOP alternative.

Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide

House Republicans, led by a trio of committee chairmen, including Reps. John Kline of Minnesota, Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, and Fred Upton of Michigan, said in The Wall Street Journal they would roll back insurance mandates — the core of the Affordable Care Act — but keep in place some of the law's most popular provisions, such as allowing parents to keep their children on their plan until age 26.

Sens. Orrin Hatch of Utah, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Barrasso are leading a Senate effort, outlined in a Washington Post op-ed, that they say would provide for a "temporary transition" for Americans to keep their current health care if the court rules against the administration.

Joseph Antos, a health care expert at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, said building GOP consensus on health care will be difficult. "It's one thing to put an op-ed in the news, it's another thing to get enough members of your party — because it will certainly be only Republicans who will vote for something like this — to pass something out of the House and Senate," he said.

Republicans would be hard-pressed to find any Democrats to support their health care efforts, as Obamacare has deeply divided the Congress. Democrats questioned Republicans' sincerity on expanding access .

"The simple fact is that Republicans don't have an alternative to the Affordable Care Act," said Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., who said their plans are "thinly veiled ploys to influence the Supreme Court, not an alternative plan." Israel also doubted that any alternative could ever have the full support of the party.

Of course, Republicans may never have to offer an alternative if the court rules in favor of the administration. "This doesn't get real until the Supreme Court rules," said Antos, "This is all just foreplay."

Barrasso said they would not push any proposal until the decision is handed down. "There's not going to be any legislative language presented for votes before the court rules," he said.