GOPHEALTHCAREBILL LIKELY‘ DEAD,’ MCCAINSAYS
Only way to revive health bill may be bipartisanship
Sen. John McCain, R- Ariz., said Sunday the Republican bill to repeal and replace Obamacare is “probably going to be dead.”
“My view is that it’s probably going to be dead,” he said on CBS’ Face the Nation.
Support for the bill has been eroding over the July Fourth recess, and McCain said he believes Republicans should work with Democrats to craft health care legislation.
That is a possibility floated last week by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R- Ky., who said, “No action is not an alternative.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, R- Texas, on Sunday reiterated a push to simply repeal Obamacare, let it go into effect in a year or two and use that time to debate replacement. “I continue to believe we can get this done,” he said, also on Face the Nation.
Republicans need at least 51 votes to pass their repeal and replace proposal, and haven’t been able to get there.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R- S. C., said Sunday that he would support it, saying “I think this bill is better than Obamacare.”
“Whether or not we can come together I don’t know,” Graham said on NBC’s Meet the Press. “I would support the proposal before us, but you’ve got different camps in the Republican Party.”
Graham said with insurers dropping out of exchanges and premiums soaring, the failure of Obamacare is inevitable.
“My advice is if it does fail, work together in a bipartisan fashion to replace it,” he said.
“Whether or not we can come together I don’t know. ... You’ve got different camps in the Republican Party.” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R- S. C.