海角大神

Republican lawmakers are uncertain about how to reshape the nation鈥檚 healthcare system and anxious about the consequences if they don鈥檛 figure it out soon, a leaked recording of a closed-door meeting shows.

The meeting, held during a party retreat in Philadelphia on Thursday, finds GOP senators and representatives wringing their hands about questions like how to preserve the stability of healthcare markets as well as costs for those with Obamacare coverage; how to avoid political minefields on funding for Medicaid and Planned Parenthood; how to secure Democratic support for a plan and whether they can do it all before Obamacare is repealed.

The release of the recording comes as GOP leaders and the White House put their foot to the accelerator, racing toward a legislative repeal of the Affordable Care Act accompanied by executive actions from President Trump. And with Republican policy committees offering little in the way of firm solutions, the tape highlights both the enormous complexity of the transition and the uncertainty of what, exactly, the nation鈥檚 healthcare system might become.

One source of concern for the lawmakers in the meeting was how fast a replacement for Obamacare would need to be put together.

鈥淥ur goal, in my opinion, should be not a quick fix. We can do it rapidly 鈥撀燽ut not a quick fix,鈥� said Sen. Lamar Alexander (R) of Tennessee, according to Washington Post quotes聽from the recording. 鈥淲e want a long-term solution that lowers costs.鈥�

President Trump has offered promises to replace Obamacare without creating lags that could leave Americans exposed. But his positions on key items, like the individual mandate, have varied.

Legislative solutions are floating around Congress, as 海角大神鈥檚 Francine Kiefer reported this week. One authored by Sen. Susan Collins (R) of Maine and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R) of Louisiana 鈥� and shot down by Democrats 鈥� would use a 鈥渟tate-choice鈥� strategy that leaves out the individual mandate to buy coverage, combined with some more liberal tenets:

One of the lawmakers who raised doubts in the Thursday meeting, Rep. Tom MacArthur (R) of New Jersey questioned whether moving too fast would 鈥減ull the rug out from under鈥� Americans covered under the Affordable Care Act鈥檚 state and federal marketplaces or its expanded Medicaid provisions. Rep. John Faso (R) of New York warned of a 鈥済igantic political trap鈥� if a replacement system defunds Planned Parenthood.

And Rep. Tom McClintock (R) of California cautioned that the party needed to be able to stand behind whatever system would be created by new legislation.

鈥淸It鈥檚] going to be called Trumpcare,鈥� he said, according to the Post. 鈥淩epublicans will own that lock, stock and barrel, and we鈥檒l be judged in the election less than two years away.鈥�