The Republican health care bill, known as the American Health Care Act, passed the House 217-213 Thursday afternoon.
U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, who represents the state’s 6th congressional district, was Colorado’s only Republican “no” vote.
In a statement explaining his no vote, Coffman said that he was concerned that people with pre existing conditions would not be protected under the new health care plan.
He added that he wasn’t going to vote on a bill of this magnitude that hadn’t been scored by the Congressional Budget Office.
Coffman held a townhall meeting in his district in recent weeks which was packed full of constituents angry at his support for previous versions of the bill.
Yesterday evening. the Senate State Affairs Committee defeated the Family And Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) Act on a partisan vote of 3-2. The act had passed the House for the first time last week.
The FAMLI Act would have allowed paid family leave to Colorado workers, by allowing employees to pay small premiums into an insurance plan that would provide partial wage replacement for family medical leave — at no cost to employers, government or taxpayers.
Workers could have used paid leave for the birth of a new child, to recover from a serious illness or care for a sick family member.
