Politics

Republicans reverse course on plan to exempt Congress from some health care changes

Caught off guard by a provision in a new agreement to be added to a GOP health overhaul bill, Republicans on Wednesday said they would drop language which seemed to exempt members of Congress from coverage changes that would be allowed under the Obama health law.

“This is common sense,” said Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC), as he said the exemption should be dropped. “We’re going to make sure that members of Congress are under the same rules as our constituents.”

The issue arose as part of a deal struck between more conservative members of the House Freedom Caucus and Rep. Tom