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The fundamental thing to understand about Senate Republicans latestattempt to repeal Obamacare is that the bill under consideration wouldnot just undo the Affordable Care Actit would also end Medicaid as weknow it and our federal governments half-century commitment to closingthe countrys yawning gaps in health coverage. And it would do sowithout putting in place any credible resources or policies to replacethe system it is overturning. If our country enacts this bill, it would be an act of mass suicide.
The Republican bill currently being rushed to a vote was put forward bya group of senators led by Lindsey Graham, of South Carolina, and BillCassidy, of Louisiana. As has become the apparent rule for Republicanhealth-care bills, there have been no hearings or committee reviews ofthe Graham-Cassidy bill. And, this time, lawmakers and the public do noteven have a Congressional Budget Office analysis of the effects the billwould have on the budget, insurance costs, or the uninsured rate.
The Senate Rejected Five Different Obamacare Replacement Bills Not Just One
Its important to remember that the Senate did not just reject one health care bill during this process. It rejected, depending on how you count, three, four, or maybe even five.
There was the American Health Care Act, which passed the House but was considered dead on arrival in the Senate.
There was the original version of Majority Leader Mitch McConnells Better Care Reconciliation Act, which would have failed on the floor and so was yanked back for revisions.
There was the Ted Cruz-ified version of the Better Care Reconciliation Act, which gutted insurance regulations and was defeated in a 43-57 vote.
There was the Obamacare Repeal and Reconciliation Act, which would have repealed Obamacare without specifying a replacement, and which failed 45-55 on the floor.
And then there was skinny repeal the Health Care Freedom Act, which would have repealed the individual mandate but left the Medicaid expansion. Last night, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, John McCain, and every Senate Democrat sent the bill to a 49-51 defeat. But that likely overstates the bills support, given that many of the Republicans who voted for it only did so under the assumption that they would move to negotiations with the House and nothing like the HCFA would ever become law.
Why Did The Republicans Block The Bill
They blocked the bill for the same reasons they always do. They have had the House and Senate for some time and are yet to support our veterans with the spending really required.
Most Republicans said it was too large, too costly and would burden a Department of Veterans Affairs already struggling to keep up with promised benefits.
Sen Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent and chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee who authored the bill, argued that many provisions in the bill have won bipartisan support in other pieces of pending legislation before Congress.
Republicans complained about how to pay for it. Sanders’ legislation had more than 140 provisions costing $21 billion over 10 years.
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What The Aca Means For You
The Affordable Care Act is perhaps the greatest overhaul ofthe US health-care system, and it will provide coverage for over 94% ofAmericans. In addition, one of its key reforms includes health coverage for adultswith pre-existing conditions, which generally had not been available up untilnow.
These great changes in health-care insurance can benefit you and your loved ones. However, it is still essential to find the best plans at the best price to ensure your family is properly covered.
To learn about the specific Obamacare-compliant health insurance plan options available to youplus see if you are eligible for a government subsidy to help pay for a plancompare ACA-compliant health insurance plans with eHealth today.
But Wouldnt People Still Get Help To Buy Insurance
Yes and that was one of the reasons the health plan was always going to be difficult for a broad base of Republicans to support. Giving Americans tax credits to buy health insurance looked to conservatives too much like Obamacare, while huge overhauls to Medicaid public health insurance for the poor left moderate Republicans worried about constituents who depend on those services.
Further, Republicans last-minute amendments actually increased the price tag of their bill, without insuring more Americans. A Congressional Budget Office analysis found that the changes still left 24 million Americans without insurance and reduced savings over the next decade, from $337bn in the first draft, to just $150bn.
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Moving Down The Agenda
After the original bills failure, both Trump and McConnell wanted the Senate to vote on a bill to completely repeal the Affordable Care Act after a two-year delay. This gambit was essentially Republican leadership playing chicken in two ways.
First, leadership dared rank-and-file Republicans to vote against a repeal bill because most Republicans campaigned on the premise that the ACA should be repealed. However, doing so could potentially create chaos in the health care market.
Second, if Congress failed to pass a replacement health care bill within the next two years, chaos would ensue. Congress often gives itself such incentives in order to promote compromise. The major problem with this tactic is that Republican leadership would still have to find a way to placate both moderates and extreme conservatives, and potentially Democrats as well. While legislative compromise used to be a regular occurrence, it is becoming rarer in recent times due to increased polarization. Legislative productivity is near an all-time low.
In order to repeal and replace Obamacare, Republicans needed to strike a deal that pleased both moderates and conservatives. It seems unlikely that such a deal exists.
So Will There Definitely Be A Vote This Week On The Graham
Its looking less and less likely.
Last week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said a vote would be held this week, and over the weekend White House officials said they expected one on Wednesday.
But Monday, amid dimming prospects, McConnell would not commit to a vote. He is not likely to want to endure another embarrassing failure on the Senate floor, so he may not call a vote unless hes sure he has the support. Thats unlikely with three Republicans now opposed to the bill.
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Gop Health Care Bill Passes In House Moves To Senate
“They’re not even doing it for the party,” he said as he stood flanked by Republican leadership and rank and file in the Rose Garden. “They’re doing it for this country because we suffered with Obamacare.”
Ryan took to the floor ahead of the vote to argue that Obamacare was failing. “We can continue with the status quo or we can put this collapsing law behind us and end this failed experiment,” he said.
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Still, the bill’s passage was arduous. Republicans had been working to piece together a GOP-only coalition of votes ever since their attempt to repeal and replace much of the Affordable Care Act failed nearly two months ago
The measure barely made it through, with 20 Republicans splitting with their own party to vote against the bill.
Of the dissenting Republicans, nine represent districts that voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton over Trump in 2016. An additional four lawmakers reside in districts that only narrowly voted for Trump, making them top targets for Democrats seeking to unseat them in next years midterms.
Republicans erupted in cheers when the measure passed, and Democrats erupted in song, singing “na, na, na, na, hey, hey, hey, goodbye,” alluding to their political futures after the vote.
Four Senators And A Bill One Year In The Making
While Republicans had worked on various proposals to overhaul the tax code for decades, Republican senators began strategizing their latest attempt to reform the tax code not long after Trump stunned the country and won the White House. Republicans had a President ready and willing to sign a bill if they could manage to send him one.
According to a source familiar with the tax negotiations, as far back as December 2016, a small group of Republican senators all on the Senate Finance Committee and guided by Chairman Orrin Hatch and his staff began hashing out the Senates course.
The group included Sens. Rob Portman, formally the director of the Office of Management and Budget, Sen. John Thune, a member of the GOP leadership, Pat Toomey, a fiscal conservative and a member of the Senates Budget Committee and Sen. Tim Scott, a rising conservative star in the party. Over the next several months, the senators held what the source said must have been hundreds of meetings as they sought to find a way forward not only among fellow senators but in cooperation with the House of Representatives and Trump who lawmakers widely acknowledge was more engaged and interested in tax reform than he had been on health care.
Theres been an enormous amount of work done. The reason you see everybody looking so tired is because we are, said Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican. They did a great job of keeping us apprised so we wouldnt be surprised.
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If Dynamic Scoring Is Good For Tax Cuts Why Not For Our Veterans
Republicans do not generally mind using clever accounting methods like dynamic scoring to justify ‘budget friendly’ tax cuts. However, to support the veteran, they refuse to accept plausible funding.
Most of that money was to come from billions of dollars the government projected it would be allowed to spend on wars overseas in the fight against al-Qaeda.But Republicans argued that this is “phony” budgeting because U.S. participation in the Iraq War is over and operations in Afghanistan are winding down.
Attempts To Change Or Repeal
Read Ballotpedia’s fact check »
The Affordable Care Act was subject to a number of lawsuits challenging some of its provisions, such as the individual mandate and the requirement to cover contraception. Four of these lawsuits were heard by the United States Supreme Court, resulting in changes to the law and how it was enforced. In addition, since the law’s enactment, lawmakers in Congress have introduced and considered legislation to modify or repeal parts or all of the Affordable Care Act. Finally, between 2010 and 2012, voters in eight states considered ballot measures related to the law. This section summarizes the lawsuits, legislation, and state ballot measures that attempted to change, repeal, or impact enforcement of parts of the law.
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Gop Health Care Bill Collapses
Senate Republicans will shelve their bill to replace Obamacare, dealing a major blow to Trump’s agenda.
By BURGESS EVERETT and JENNIFER HABERKORN
07/17/2017 07:53 PM EDT
07/18/2017 12:12 AM EDT
President Donald Trump’s top legislative priority was dealt a potentially fatal blow Monday night as two more Republican senators announced their opposition to the party’s health care overhaul.
Trump quickly called on Republicans to simply repeal Obamacare and begin work on a new health care plan, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced he would try to do so.
Regretfully, it is now apparent that the effort to repeal and immediately replace the failure of Obamacare will not be successful,” McConnell said.
The Kentucky Republican said he planned to hold a vote in the coming days to take up the House-passed bill to replace the 2010 health care law and then call up an amendment to eliminate major parts of Obamacare, such as the Medicaid expansion, insurance subsidies and fines for the employer and individual mandates.
Republicans passed a similar bill to effectively repeal Obamacare in 2015 under reconciliation the fast-track budget procedure the GOP is using to thwart a Democratic filibuster but it was vetoed by President Barack Obama.
“Republicans should just ‘REPEAL’ failing ObamaCare now & work on a new Healthcare Plan that will start from a clean slate. Dems will join in!” Trump tweeted shortly before McConnell’s statement came out.
House Republicans Pass Healthcare Bill In First Step Toward Replacing Obamacare
Partisan approval with one vote to spare sends American Health Care Act to uncertain fate in Senate, after negotiations reveal cracks in Republican party
First published on Thu 4 May 2017 19.20 BST
House Republicans narrowly approved a controversial plan to dismantle the Affordable Care Act on Thursday, taking a significant first step toward fulfilling a seven-year promise to repeal and replace the 2010 law that served as a landmark overhaul of the US healthcare system.
Republicans passed the American Health Care Act with one vote to spare, following a dramatic series of negotiations that exposed deep fissures between the partys moderate and conservative wings over how to replace Barack Obamas signature legislative accomplishment.
The bill passed 217 to 213, with 20 Republicans voting against and no Democrats voting in favor. Republicans burst into applause when the bill passed the 216-vote threshold, a feat that had seemed insurmountable just days before.
Democrats too saw a reason for celebrating. After it passed, they sang the 60s hit Na Na Hey Hey appearing to suggest Republicans would lose their seats if the repeal proved unpopular.
The bill now moves to the Senate, where it is expected to face serious difficulties.
What a great group of people, Trump said, referring to the Republican congressmen, and theyre not even doing it for the party, theyre doing it for this country because we suffered with Obamacare.
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They Underestimated How Ideologically Varied Their Party Has Become
Republican leaders have been grappling for years with a growing bloc of principled conservatives who are politically rewarded in their conservative districts for not compromising.
But it feels as if they;were caught off guard by an equally influential, somewhat larger and just as intransigent faction of moderates.
Those moderates campaigned on repealing Obamacare, but when it came;time to pull the lever that would take away health care for hundreds of thousands of their constituents, they just couldn’t;politically do it.
As for Thursday’s late-night vote in the Senate, conservatives had made peace with just getting rid of Obamacare’s individual mandate, but two moderates, Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski , along with Sen. John McCain , sunk that proposal early Friday morning.)
Now, this group seems to be suggesting it would be better to work within the existing structures of Obamacare than take its benefits away.
In a no-holds-barred speech on the Senate floor earlier this week, McCain ripped apart Republicans’ repeal strategy: “Weve tried to do this by coming up with a proposal behind closed doors in consultation with the administration, then springing it on skeptical members, trying to convince them its better than nothing, asking us to swallow our doubts and force it past a unified opposition. I dont think that is going to work in the end. And it probably shouldnt.”
Why The Health Care Bill Passed The House This Time
The House passed a new version of a health care bill to replace the Affordable Care Act after the first one failed to get enough Republican support in March. The bill still needs to pass the Senate before becoming law.
By Thomas Kaplan and Robert Pear
- May 4, 2017
WASHINGTON The House on Thursday narrowly approved legislation to repeal and replace major parts of the Affordable Care Act, as Republicans recovered from their earlier failures and moved a step closer to delivering on their promise to reshape American health care without mandated insurance coverage.
The vote, 217 to 213, held on President Trumps 105th day in office, is a significant step on what could be a long legislative road. Twenty Republicans bolted from their leadership to vote no. But the win keeps alive the partys dream of unwinding President Barack Obamas signature domestic achievement.
The House measure faces profound uncertainty in the Senate, where a handful of Republican senators immediately rejected it, signaling that they would start work on a new version of the bill virtually from scratch.
To the extent that the House solves problems, we might borrow ideas, said Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, chairman of the Senate health committee. We can go to conference with the House, or they can pass our bill.
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House Republicans Narrowly Pass Gop Health Care Bill
The Republican-sponsored American Health Care Act passed the House 217-213 Thursday, with one vote to spare, although it will face an uncertain path in the Senate.;
No Democrats voted for the bill, and 20 Republicans voted against it. The bill largely repeals and replaces Obamacare.;
Speaking to reporters after the vote, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, said he knew they had the votes on Wednesday and he said if they hadn’t passed it, it would have impeded “the rest of our agenda.”;
“We proved that we could accomplish something this big,” he said. “I can’t thank the president enough. President Trump and Vice President Pence have been directly engaged,” adding that Pence called him twice on Thursday to check in about individual members.;
House Republicans left the Capitol after the vote, headed to the White House on buses. Scalise said they were invited to the Oval Office or the Rose Garden.;
As soon as Republicans cleared the threshold to pass the bill, House Democrats began singing in unison, “Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, hey, hey, goodbye” toward the Republicans.;
Rep. Chris Collins, R-New York, said he’s not worried about Republicans’ prospects for the 2018 midterm elections.;
“If we weren’t able to repeal and replace Obamacare, it would have been a bad midterm for us. I think we will hold our own, if not pick up seats,” he told reporters.;
