Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Co., voted against the House's American Health Care Act and is now proposing his own alternative to the GOP's proposed healthcare bills, according to Denver7.
Mr. Coffman's most emphasized point involves changing the way Medicaid expansion is funded. While proposed Republican bills have significantly cut funding for Medicaid programs that expanded under the ACA, Mr. Coffman instead shifts the burden of funding away from the federal government onto states.
Mr. Coffman does not want to cut Medicaid expansion funding entirely, with 400,000 people gaining coverage in Colorado alone, but says it is unsustainable for the government to cover 90 percent of the cost. Under his plan, federal and state governments will have to share costs evenly for anyone who enrolls in Medicaid after 2020.
"I think first of all I need to convince Republicans to back away from doing this unilaterally," said Coffman. "I think, together, Republicans and Democrats will be able to craft a solution that makes sense for the country. I think it is wrong for Republicans, on such a critical piece, to go forward alone on this."
At the time of publication, Mr. Coffman was scheduled to introduce his proposals to House Republicans Wednesday morning.
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