Republicans heed Trump’s orders
Meet late into night to hammer out Obamacare alternative
Republicans struggling to agree on healthcare legislation to overhaul Obamacare obeyed US President Donald Trump’s orders to try to swiftly reach a deal but were unable to resolve their differences in a long, latenight meeting.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump took Senate Republicans to task for failing to agree on how to dismantle Obamacare, as a new report showed 32 million Americans would lose health insurance if senators opt to repeal the law without a replacement.
Trump gathered 49 Republican senators for a White House lunch after a bill to repeal and replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act collapsed on Monday amid dissent from a handful of the party’s conservatives and moderates.
After Trump’s exhortation to keep trying, party members met with Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price behind closed doors on Wednesday night to try to finally come together on a major Republican promise of the past seven years – undoing former Democratic president Barack Obama’s signature legislation, popularly known as Obamacare.
There was no immediate breakthrough.
“We still have some issues that divide us,” said Senator Ted Cruz, a conservative who has proposed letting insurers offer cheaper bare- bones plans that do not comply with Obamacare regulations.
Republicans attending the late meeting sent their staff away in order to talk frankly and Senator John Kennedy said everyone was negotiating in good faith but he added he did not know if they would reach an agreement.
Almost all the other senators rushed off after the meeting without comment.
As it was getting underway, the nearly two dozen Repub- lican senators were shaken by news that their colleague, veteran Senator John McCain, had been diagnosed with brain cancer.
McCain’s absence from the Senate makes the job of passing a healthcare bill more difficult because leaders need every Republican vote they can get.
“Obviously, I think more people are worried about his health than thinking about the math. You understand the math. Obviously it makes things difficult,” Senator Bob Corker said as he left the meeting.