Senate nearly out of time to try Obamacare repeal

Chamber’s setter of rules says fast-track option is expiring.

The Senate parliamentarian has told lawmakers that Republicans’ ability to pass an Affordable Care Act replacement with just 51 votes will expire at the end of this month, Sen. Bernie Sanders said Friday.

The preliminary finding complicates any further efforts by Republican leaders in Congress to pass a comprehensive GOP-only replacement for the health care law.

In a statement, Sanders, a Vermont independent, called the determination a “major victory” for those who oppose repealing so-called “Obamacare.”

Senate Republicans, who control the chamber 52-48, failed to win enough support for their replacement bill in July as three GOP lawmakers joined Democrats to oppose the measure.

Republican leaders haven’t ruled out reviving their effort, and some party members — including Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Ted Cruz of Texas — say they’re talking to colleagues about the possibility of a broadbased bill.

At the same time, some senators are discussing a scaled-back, bipartisan health measure.

It generally takes 60 votes to overcome a Democratic filibuster in the Senate, and Democrats are united against a full replacement of the Affordable Care. The Republicans turned to a complicated fast-track procedure that bypasses the filibuster but which can only be used for a limited period.

Earlier guidance from Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough dogged Republicans in their Affordable Care Act replacement effort throughout the summer.

In late July, she issued a preliminary finding that key parts of a proposal drafted by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell didn’t qualify for the fast-track procedure, dramatically complicating the already slimming prospects of passing a bill.

The parliamentarian’s new finding doesn’t preclude Republicans in both chambers from seeking to restore the ability to use a 51-vote majority for an repeal bill in the next fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.

But, despite urging from President Donald Trump to make another try, Republican leaders in Congress have shown little enthusiasm, preferring to focus on tax reform.

Meanwhile, the Senate Health committee has scheduled four hearings this month to examine bolstering the Affordable Care Act’s insurance exchanges after a number of insurers exited regional markets in Missouri, Iowa, Tennessee and other states. Chairman Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, and the panel’s top Democrat, Patty Murray of Washington, have pledged a bipartisan effort to shore up the exchanges, which provide consumers a place to purchase individual coverage.

The House Budget Committee has drafted a fiscal 2018 budget that could be used for both Affordable Care Act repeal and tax reform. That budget may come to the floor in mid-September. Still, bundling a tax overhaul and Obamacare repeal in the same legislation would be time-consuming and unlikely.

The GOP failed to win enough support in July for replacement.

JOHN MINCHILLO / ASSOCIATED PRESS U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., seen speaking at a proACA rally in Kentucky in July, said the imminent expiration of a fast-track protocol for repealing the Affordable Care Act is a “major victory.”