Obamacare Repeal: How MI Representatives Voted

TROY, MI — The House of Representatives, by the slimmest of margins, passed a health care bill on Thursday that would repeal and replace major parts of the Affordable Care Act. The final tally was 217-213, including a 9-5 vote in favor of the bill by Michigan representatives. Unsurprisingly, the Michigan vote went straight down party lines with Republicans saying “yes” and Democrats saying “no.”

Dave Trott, a Troy Republican representing the 11th District, fully supported the bill. "Since coming to Congress, I have been committed to replacing the Affordable Care Act with common-sense solutions that give every Michigan family access to affordable, high-quality care,” he said in a statement. "While this legislation is not perfect, I believe it is better approach than was taken by the Affordable Care Act.”

Debbie Dingell, a Dearborn Democrat representing Michigan’s 12th District, said approval of the bill was the wrong choice. “Today, my colleagues in the House of Representatives voted to rip health insurance away from at least 24 million Americans and turn back the clock on progress to ensure quality, affordable healthcare for all,” she said in a statement.

“This legislation literally means life or death for people across this country,” Dingell continued. “It guts protections for pre-existing conditions, ends Medicaid expansion – which reduced the uninsured rate in Michigan by half – charges older Americans five times more for care, and steals from Medicare – all in order to give $600 billion in tax breaks to the wealthy and big corporations.”

Trott disagreed with Dingell’s assessment. He said the bill will instill patient-centered reforms that will reduce costs. Trott also thinks the bill has safeguards for patients with pre-existing conditions, and will allow young adults to stay on their parents' healthcare plan until age twenty-six.

“The American people must continue to make their voices heard on this dangerous bill that will leave working men and women worse off and could ultimately cost lives,” Dingell said. “This is about real people, and it is our job to ensure that if they are sick, they can get the care they need. This bill does the exact opposite.”

Here is the final vote tally to repeal Obamacare of Michigan’s representatives:

Yes

• Justin Amash (R-3rd District)
• Jack Bergman (R-1)
• Mike Bishop (R-8)
• Bill Huizenga (R-2)
• Paul Mitchell (R-10)
• John Moolenaar (R-4)
• Dave Trott (R-11)
• Fred Upton (R-6)
• Tim Walberg (R-7)

No

• John Conyers, Jr. (D-13th District)
• Debbie Dingell (D-12)
• Daniel Kildee (D-5)
• Brenda Lawrence (D-14)
• Sander Levin (D-9)

Photo by Army Medicine via Flickr Commons