POLS ATTACK PLAN SECRECY
Draft of health care bill expected today
Senate Republicans will begin their sprint to dismantle Obamacare by finally unveiling their super-secret plan today before racing to build support ahead of a looming Fourth of July recess.
“We believe we can do better than the Obamacare status quo, and we fully intend to do so,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said yesterday.
McConnell plans to release a draft of the bill this morning after hashing out the details behind closed doors.
The Washington Post reported last night that the Senate bill resembles the House version that passed in May, but with notable changes including linking federal insurance subsidies to income, not age, and creating a more gradual cut-off of state Medicaid expansion. The plan would also drop a House provision that allowed insurance companies under certain situations to boost premiums on patients with pre-existing conditions. The draft bill would also end federal funding of Planned Parenthood.
Republican leaders have taken heat — particularly from those in their own party — not just for the secrecy of the legislation up to now, but also the frenzied pace lawmakers will have to work to vote by the end of next week.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office is expected to release its score of the bill either tomorrow or Monday, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, told Politico.
Arizona U.S. Sen. John McCain joked that not only has he not yet seen a copy of the bill, he hasn’t met any American who has.
“I’m sure the Russians have been able to hack in and gotten most of it,” he said.
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, was so fed up with the secrecy he re-introduced a “Read the Bills” resolution that requires one day of consideration for every 20 pages of legislation.
Bay State U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren decried the Planned Parenthood defunding, saying: “Thirteen men are trading away women’s health care for tax cuts for the rich.”
President Trump, who had reportedly called the House bill “mean” privately after celebrating its passage with other GOPers just a month ago, tried to get Democrats on board and off his back yesterday.
“Democrats would do much better as a party if they got together with Republicans on Healthcare, Tax Cuts, Security. Obstruction doesn’t work!” Trump tweeted.
For Republicans, it may be the closest they’ve ever come to repealing Obamacare, an issue they campaigned hard on in 2016.
Organizing For Action, an activist group tied to former President Barack Obama, blasted the GOP bill, claiming Republicans want to “take health care from working families” — even as news continued to spread that more health insurance companies are pulling out of state Obamacare health exchanges.
In a statement, OFA said, “They’re willing to risk American lives just to ‘ win’ partisan battles.”