Govs. John Hickenlooper, John Kasich take another stab at health care

Last summer Govs. John Hickenlooper and John Kasich urged Congress to take a bipartisan approach to fixing the nation’s healthcare system. Now the Colorado Democrat and Ohio Republican are trying again, according to an announcement Wednesday night from the Colorado governor’s office.

The announcement promises a bipartisan group of governors will unveil a blueprint for health care, and includes Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, an independent, to the partnership.

A press conference is scheduled for Friday morning at the National Press Club. Kasich and Hickenlooper appeared there last summer in their first attempt to continue insurance provided by Obamacare for millions of Americans, while compromising between Democrats and Republicans. The GOP at the time was trying to repeal and replace the healthcare system and mandatory health insurance that was the signature achievement of President Obama.

They couldn’t do it, but since then Republicans used the tax reform bill to remove the penalty for failing to have insurance, the pillar that supports much of the expanded insurance market.

Hickenlooper, Kasich and other governors offered Congress a seven-page plan that included:

You can read the plan by clicking here.

Other governors who signed on to that plan were Louisiana’s John Bel Edwards, a Democrat; Montana’s Steve Bullock, a Democrat; Nevada’s Brian Sandoval, a Republican; Pennsylvania’s Tom Wolf, a Democrat; and Virginia’s Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat and former chairman of the Democratic National Committee.