Trump, party fail health bill vote
Obamacare hangs in
IN A STINGING blow to President Donald Trump, US Senate Republicans failed yesterday to dismantle Obamacare, falling short on a major campaign promise and perhaps ending a seven-year quest by their party to gut the health-care law.
Voting in the early hours, three Republican senators, John McCain, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, crossed party lines to join Democrats in a dramatic 49 to 51 vote to reject a “skinny repeal” bill that would have eliminated some parts of Obamacare.
“This is clearly a disappointing moment,” Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell told the Senate floor right after the vote. “The American people are going to regret that we couldn’t find a better way forward.”
Trump’s failure sent the dollar down against a basket of other currencies yesterday.
The setback leaves him without a major legislative win after more than six months in power, even though Republicans control the White House, Senate and House of Representatives. He had been expected to make rapid changes to health care, taxes and infrastructure spending.
“Three Republicans and 48 Democrats let the American people down. As I said from the beginning, let Obamacare implode, then deal. Watch!” Trump tweeted after the vote.
Trump has repeatedly berated congressional Republicans for being unable to overcome internal divisions to repeal Obamacare, but has offered no legislation himself, nor any clear guidance on what he would like to do about replacing the law.
The president has demanded at various times that Obamacare should be allowed to collapse on its own, that it should be repealed without replacement and that it should be repealed and replaced.
The Affordable Care Act, approved by Democrats in 2010, was president Barack Obama’s signature domestic achievement. It provided health insurance to millions of uninsured Americans, but was denounced from the outset by Republicans who viewed it as government intrusion on people’s healthcare decisions.
The voting down of the bill still leaves uncertainty in the health-care industry, with insurers not sure how long the Trump administration will continue to make billions of dollars in Obamacare payments that help cover out-ofpocket medical expenses for low-income Americans.
Insurers have until September to set rates for 2018 health plans in many marketplaces. Some insurers, including Anthem, Humana and Aetna, have pulled out of Obamacare markets, citing uncertainty over the payments. Others have raised rates by double digits.
Republicans hold 52 seats in the 100-seat Senate. McConnell, whose reputation as a tactician was on the line, could lose support from only two Republican senators, with the tie-breaking vote cast by Vice-President Mike Pence, who was on the Senate floor.