"A disaster for Washington." That's how Governor Jay Inslee describes the Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) with the American Health Care Act (go ahead and call it "Trumpcare"). In this state, Inslee said, killing Obamacare could reverse years of progress, driving the numbers of uninsured Washingtonians to levels higher than before the ACA. The hardest hit: 600,000 low-income Washingtonians who got Medicaid coverage when Obamacare expanded that program. (Another 100,000 people may drop out of the private insurance market under the GOP plan, the state estimates.) With Trumpcare headed for a full US House vote as early as March 23, here's a look at how many Medicaid recipients stand to lose coverage in each of Washington's 10 congressional districts—and what the representatives from each of those districts have to say about it.
Suzan DelBene - Democrat, District 1
Minimum number of people in DelBene's district at risk of losing coverage under Trumpcare: 41,676.
Percentage of her district that voted for Trump: 36.
What DelBene says about Trumpcare: DelBene has been outspoken against the Republican proposal, calling it a "poorly conceived experiment" and warning that it will "raise out-of-pocket costs for middle-class families, gut benefits for seniors, allow insurance companies to discriminate against women, and cut funding for Medicaid by more than $500 billion." When the House Ways and Means Committee voted on the bill recently, DelBene voted no.
Contact: 202-225-6311.
Rick Larsen - Democrat, District 2
Minimum number of people in Larsen's district at risk of losing coverage under Trumpcare: 58,081.
Percentage of his district that voted for Trump: 33.
What Larsen says about Trumpcare: He's against it. While some members of Congress are refusing to hold in-person town-hall meetings, Larsen says he's held six of them and talked to more than 800 constituents—many of them concerned about health care. Even among those who oppose the Affordable Care Act, Larsen said on the House floor on March 10, "none have asked me to support legislation that would cover fewer people."
Contact: 202-225-2605.
Jaime Herrera Beutler - Republican, District 3
Minimum number of people in Herrera Beutler's district at risk of losing coverage under Trumpcare: 64,033.
Percentage of her district that voted for Trump: 47.5.
What Herrera Beutler says about Trumpcare: Herrera Beutler denounced Trump during the campaign and gets her own insurance from the Affordable Care Act exchange. Still, she has repeatedly denounced Obamacare, saying it failed to drive down insurance costs. Now she seems to be ducking the question of the GOP replacement. She told the Columbian on March 16, "there are legitimate concerns" about the bill. Her office did not respond to our request for comment.
Contact: 202-225-3536.
Dan Newhouse - Republican, District 4
Minimum number of people in Newhouse's district at risk of losing coverage under Trumpcare: 69,952.
Percentage of his district that voted for Trump: 55.
What Newhouse says about Trumpcare: Newhouse (who has a 100 percent score for voting in line with Trump's positions, according to FiveThirtyEight's "Trump score" tracker) signed a letter with other Washington Republicans slamming Obamacare. He has said he's "committed to reforming our broken health-care system," but he has not taken a clear stand on Trumpcare that we can find. His office did not return a request for comment.
Contact: 202-225-5816.
Cathy McMorris Rodgers - Republican, District 5
Minimum number of people in McMorris Rodgers's district at risk of losing coverage under Trumpcare: 73,276.
Percentage of her district that voted for Trump: 50.
What McMorris Rodgers says about Trumpcare: McMorris Rodgers—the fourth-highest-ranking Republican in the House—has vigorously defended Trump's health-care plan. Despite a report from the Congressional Budget Office finding 24 million Americans could lose coverage under the GOP bill by 2026 (and, before that, being drowned out by chants of "Save our health care" during a January speech), McMorris Rodgers has doubled down and on March 9 voted in favor of Trumpcare in the Energy and Commerce Committee. The CBO report, she said, "doesn't take into account future actions Congress and the administration will take to further lower costs and increase coverage options."
Contact: 202-225-2006.
Derek Kilmer - Democrat, District 6
Minimum number of people in Kilmer's district at risk of losing coverage under Trumpcare: 64,820.
Percentage of his district that voted for Trump: 38.
What Kilmer says about Trumpcare: Kilmer has denounced the damage the Republican plan could do to women's health, opioid treatment, and Medicaid, which his office says has covered cancer treatments for 20,000 people in Washington State. "Folks know that I'm willing to work with anyone—regardless of party—to try to make progress," Kilmer said in a statement. "But I'm really struck by how damaging this proposal is."
Contact: 202-225-5916.
Pramila Jayapal - Democrat, District 7
Minimum number of people in Jayapal's district at risk of losing coverage under Trumpcare: 52,457.
Percentage of her district that voted for Trump: 12.
What Jayapal says about Trumpcare: "This bill is pure greed," Jayapal said during a March 16 House committee markup of the bill. "The rich get richer while 24 million people are stripped of health care." Jayapal voted against the bill in the House Budget Committee, and her office is now collecting stories from people who have benefited from Obamacare, which she has since shared during floor speeches about the Republican proposal.
Contact: 202-225-3106.
Dave Reichert - Republican, District 8
Minimum number of people in Reichert's district at risk of losing coverage under Trumpcare: 48,512.
Percentage of his district that voted for Trump: 42.5.
What Reichert says about Trumpcare: Reichert has already voted for Trumpcare in the House Ways and Means Committee. After the Congressional Budget Office's report, Reichert initially said nothing. Only after the Seattle Times posted a story about how Reichert hadn't responded to the report did his office release a statement saying, in part: "It's not the government's job to force Americans to buy something they do not want and can't afford to use."
Contact: 202-225-7761.
Adam Smith - Democrat, District 9
Minimum number of people in Smith's district at risk of losing coverage under Trumpcare: 60,427.
Percentage of his district that voted for Trump: 22.
What Smith says about Trumpcare: Smith is "strongly opposed" to the Republicans' plan. Repealing Obamacare, he said in a statement, "could leave our health-care system in a state of disarray and dysfunction." He denounced potential losses of coverage and cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. "The Republican plan," he said, "benefits those who are young and healthy, or those who are wealthy at the sacrifice of those who are not."
Contact: 202-225-8901.
Denny Heck - Democrat, District 10
Minimum number of people in Heck's district at risk of losing coverage under Trumpcare: 62,259.
Percentage of his district that voted for Trump: 38.
What Heck says about Trumpcare: Speaking against the bill on the House floor on March 8, Heck said he was "saddened and frankly dismayed by the lack of serious policy efforts from my friends on the other side of the aisle." The Republican plan, he said, "offers no attempts" to reduce costs or increase coverage, and he believes it could increase costs for elderly people.
Contact: 202-225-9740.