Republicans just moved closer than ever to passing their Obamacare overhaul

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May 3, 2017 5:26 PM

After hold outs Upton and Long flipped, the American Health Care Act looks close to passing.

Donald Trump.

In an abrupt turn of events, House Republicans came within inches of the finish line Wednesday on their repeal and replacement of Obamacare.

After the American Health Care Act looked close to dead at the start of the day, a flip by two key centrist holdouts on the bill appears to have its passage closer than ever.

Centrists had pushed back on an addition to the legislation that allowed states to apply for a waiver to repeal some Obamacare regulations, which some members worried would undermine protections for people with preexisting conditions.

To combat this concern, Rep. Fred Upton on Tuesday began circulating an amendment to provide an additional $8 billion in funds to protect those sick Americans in the event that such a waiver is triggered.

Importantly, the additional funding also has not turned away members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, which only supported the AHCA after the original provision providing for state waivers was added.

A source close to the Freedom Caucus told Business Insider that some members of the Caucus had seen legislative text of the Upton amendment.

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