Story highlights "We want the federal government out of the health insurance business," King said

Republicans are having a difficult time getting the votes needed to pass a bill this week

Washington (CNN) A Republican lawmaker says he moved from supporting his party's health care replacement bill to being undecided due to the recent inclusion of so-called "essential health benefits," such as emergency services, hospitalization and prescription drugs.

Rep. Steve King said there was an agreement that his language in the original bill that would "strike out" the requirement to cover essential health benefits would be offered in the Senate with the support of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. But now, he said, he wasn't so sure.

"Once they negotiated (essential health benefits) with the Freedom Caucus and Tuesday Group, it is hard for me to imagine they will bring that language in the Senate, or that it will be effective because they diluted this thing substantially," he told CNN's Chris Cuomo Wednesday on "New Day."

The House Freedom Caucus is a staunchly conservative group of House Republican lawmakers while the Tuesday Group consists of more moderate Republicans.

The Affordable Care Act -- also known as Obamacare -- requires insurers to cover 10 essential health benefits in all plans sold on the individual and small group markets. It has made coverage more comprehensive -- if also more expensive -- and prevented insurers from selling skimpy plans that were cheap but didn't offer many benefits, often leaving consumers with big bills if they needed care.

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