Subject: The Obamacare pickle
"Republicans again find themselves in an Obamacare pickle
GOP lawmakers are talking about pursuing a health policy overhaul — but leaders are warning not to revisit a repeal of the Affordable Care Act."
https://www.politico.com/news/...

Republicans are now also mired in internal discussions about whether to extend the ACA credits, and what changes they could make to the subsidies to appeal to a broader set of conservatives. They have floated ideas such as instituting new income caps, minimum co-pays, a cutoff for new enrollees and abortion restrictions.

Republicans insist those talks won’t get underway until after the shutdown ends, though some of them also warn negotiations will totally unravel if too many ambitious GOP policy proposals get added to the mix.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican who’s been tapped by the White House to work with Democrats on a shutdown offramp, said in an interview this week said the current imperative for government funding negotiations is to “keep it simple” with “some just very easy changes that both sides can agree to and then get in the weeds at a later date.”

“I’m afraid once we dive into health care,” Mullin added. “It’s going to take a while to unpack that.”

Nobody knew that healthcare could be so complicated!