WASHINGTON — After wooing GOP moderates with extra money for patients with pre-existing conditions, House Republicans said they would vote Thursday on a revised bill to repeal and replace Obamacare — setting the stage for a high-stakes showdown on one of President Trump’s top priorities.

House GOP leaders announced the vote Wednesday night after weeks of negotiations, hours of wooing wavering Republicans, and a last-minute sweetener added to the bill: an $8 billion amendment to help patients with pre-existing conditions pay for higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs.

Republican leaders suggested they would have enough votes to pass the bill in the House, although the vote could be a down-to-the-wire squeaker. The decision to schedule the vote will ramp up the pressure on a clutch of still-undecided lawmakers, and Republicans clearly had momentum on Wednesday evening.

“I support the bill with this amendment,” said Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., after meeting with President Trump at the White House on Wednesday morning about his proposal to beef up funding to help individuals with pre-existing conditions. Upton is an influential player on health care policy, and he had previously opposed the bill amid concerns it would put insurance out of reach for those with chronic illnesses and other health conditions.

Another holdout, Rep. Billy Long, R-Mo., also switched from a “no” to a “yes” after meeting with Trump and working with Upton on his amendment.

The biggest sticking point so far: the provision in Obamacare that bars insurance companies from discriminating against those with pre-existing conditions. The current GOP bill would dramatically weaken that, by allowing insurance companies charge people with pre-existing conditions —anything from cancer to pregnancy — higher premiums than other consumers.

That change prompted Upton’s push to add the extra $8 billion to help sicker patients pay their premiums and other health care bills. Upton and Long both sit on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has played a central role in drafting the GOP bill, called the American Health Care Act.

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Jeffrey R. Ungvary President

Jeffrey R. Ungvary