US House passes bill to repeal Obamacare

The US Republican-controlled House of Representatives on Thursday pushed through a health bill aimed to repeal and replace major parts of Obamacare, by a thin vote of 217-213, China's Xinhua news agency reported.

The vote was thought in high stakes but a major breakthrough for US President Donald Trump who failed to get any major legislation passed by Congress during his first 100 days in the White House.

The bill's passage also marked a step forward for Republicans who have promised to dismantle the signature legislation of former President Barack Obama since its 2010 enactment.

The Republican bill, formally known as the American Health Care Act, is now sent to the Senate where it is expected to face significant hurdles.

"If victorious, Republicans will be having a big press conference at the beautiful Rose Garden of the White House immediately after vote!" Trump tweeted minutes before the voting.

"We cannot wait for Obamacare to collapse. We have to transform this, and that's what we'll do today," said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy Thursday morning.

House Republican leaders have scrambled for enough support for the vote after having a series of changes added since an earlier version was pulled from a House floor voting at the last minute in March.

Under the latest version of the House bill, all 50 US states are allowed to apply for waivers from key ObamaCare provisions.

The bill will also provide extra US$8 billion over five years for high-risk pools aimed at helping states and insurers deal with high-cost patients. Including the additional money, a total of 138 billion dollars will be funded for the high-risk pools over the next decade.

The bill will also terminate tax penalties for individuals who don''t buy insurance coverage and larger employers who don''t offer coverage.

Tax increases on people earning more than 250,000 dollars a year and a range of industry groups including health insurers, drug makers, medical device manufacturers and tanning bed salons will also come to an end under the House bill.

Meanwhile, the bill would allow elder or sick Americans to be charged more.

Under Obamacare, insurers can't charge a 64-year-old more than three times as much as it does a 21-year-old. The new bill would let insurers charge older customer five times as much.

Meanwhile, states could opt out of Obamacare's required set of benefits or allow insurers again to charge some sick patients more for coverage in certain circumstances.

However, the bill would keep in place a key provision of Obamacare allowing younger Americans to stay on their parents' health plans until age 26.

-- BERNAMA