HEALTH CARE BILL ON LIFE SUPPORT?

McCain’s cancer diagnosis further complicates the Senate’s attempt to pass the Trump administration’s replacement for Obamacare

The Senate entered the week seeing its already-slim margin for passing a health care bill made even narrower with the cancer diagnosis of Sen. John McCain, and the week’s continued events appeared to make the task even tougher. McCain previously had been slated to be absent this week while recovering from surgery. On Wednesday, his office announced he has been diagnosed with a glioblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor with a low survival rate. It is unclear when he will be able to return to work in the Senate. With McCain absent, Republicans’ control of the Senate shrinks to 51 voting members, meaning they can afford to lose only one vote on their health care bill. A flurry of changing plans by Republican leadership further highlighted their struggles in passing the bill. After several senators expressed opposition to allowing floor discussion on a repeal-and-replace plan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell abandoned it and shifted tactics toward a repeal-only bill. By week’s end, however, opposition to that plan forced the chamber’s leadership to again reverse course, saying they would attempt to begin debate on a repeal-andreplace measure with a focus on allowing senators to use amendments to shape the bill to their liking. Even that proposal seemed to be in jeopardy as several senators expressed skepticism in a process focused more on garnering 50 votes than seeking a clear vision. Meanwhile, moderate Sen. Susan Collins, who has been a holdout on the bill so far, confirmed she was making plans for a bipartisan approach if the current effort is declared dead once and for all. Meanwhile, Congressional Budget Office reports were not favorable. The CBO found that the latest version of the repeal-and-replace legislation would leave 22 million more Americans uninsured than the current law — the same as the previous version it had scored. It also said a repeal-only plan would raise that number to 32 million.

Stephen Crowley / New York Times Above, from left, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sens. John Cornyn and John Thune leave the White House on Wednesday after a meeting on health care legislation. At right, President Donald Trump is flanked by Sens. Dean Heller, left, and Tim...

Protesters have vocally opposed the Senate health care bill for weeks as leaders tried to find a way to pass it. This week, several versions were torpedoed as the effort remains in jeopardy.