Rep. Scott DesJarlais, MD, R-Tenn., is breaking ranks in leaning toward voting "no" on the GOP's ACA replacement bill, the American Health Care Act, according to The Commercial Appeal.
Here are five things to know:
1. In a recent interview with USA Today, Rep. DesJarlais said he would not vote for the GOP plan "…As it's written," according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.
2. Rep. DesJarlais believes the GOP plan doesn't do enough to lower insurance premiums in the short term and wants legislation to remove more of the ACA's mandates.
3. Rep. DesJarlais was elected to Congress in 2011 with a promise to repeal the ACA. He is a member of the GOP Doctors Caucus and the House Freedom Caucus and is the first Tennessee Republican congressman to openly express strong hesitation to the AHCA bill.
4. While he believes the AHCA is an overall improvement over the ACA, Rep. DesJarlais was disappointed after the Congressional Budget Office's recently released cost analysis of the bill revealed average premiums would rise 15 percent to 20 percent in 2018 and 2019 under the GOP plan.
5. The congressman said, "It's so important we get this right…Replacing bad legislation with legislation that doesn't solve the problem doesn't get us anywhere."
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