Leaders try to woo votes on health bill
WASHINGTON - Senate Republican leaders added new language to their health care bill Thursday to allow the sale of cheap, bare-bones insurance plans in an attempt to draw enough conservative support to pass the measure to replace Obamacare.
At the same time, the bill gives moderates more of what they want by increasing funding to fight opioid addiction from $2 billion in the original bill to $45 billion in the latest draft.
However, two Republicans — moderate Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and conservative Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky — said Thursday they will not even vote for a procedural motion to allow a vote on the health care bill next week.
Collins tweeted that there are “still deep cuts to Medicaid in Senate bill” and said she wants to work with senators of
both parties to “fix flaws” in the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.
Senate leaders cannot lose more than two of the chamber’s 52 Republicans or they won’t be able to pass the bill, which is opposed by Democrats.
The draft bill, released on the Senate Budget Committee’s website, tries to appeal to conservatives by including a version of an amendment by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) that would allow the sale of deregulated insurance plans as long as Obamacare-compliant plans are also still sold.
Cruz confirmed to reporters Thursday that his amendment is in the bill and called that “very significant progress.” But he stopped short of saying whether it would be enough for him to support the legislation.
Insurance companies have strongly opposed the Cruz amendment, saying it would cause more instability in the marketplace. Supporters of the plan say it will give consumers the option to choose the right plan for their lifestyle. But critics say older and sicker Americans will end up paying much more for their more robust coverage.
The revised proposal would continue the Affordable Care Act’s taxes on high-income earners to help subsidize care for lower-income Americans.
It also provides an additional $70 billion to help states lower the cost of insurance for their residents through cost-sharing plans or allowing people to use health savings accounts to pay for their premiums. That money would be added onto the $112 billion in the original bill.
There would be more options for Americans to buy lower-cost plans in addition to costlier plans that provide more coverage and lower deductibles.
Anyone in the individual market would be allowed to buy a lower-cost plan. These plans would have higher deductibles than plans currently provided under Obamacare. They would cover three primary care visits a year and have some protections to limit out-of-pockets costs.
The bill would reduce the amount of federal Medicaid funds provided to states beginning in 2021 while continuing coverage for children with “medically complex disabilities.” It allows states to choose between block grants and per capita allotments for low-income residents who receive Medicaid.
“This is our opportunity to really make a difference on health care,” Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Thursday in a speech on the Senate floor. “Failure to act means more families get hurt by Obamacare as it continues to collapse. It also means the law’s problems will grow more formidable, making them even harder to solve. ... So it’s time to rise to the occasion.”
It was still not clear Thursday afternoon whether the changes would attract enough votes to pass the legislation, which Republicans are calling the Better Care Reconciliation Act.
About 10 GOP senators opposed the initial Republican bill that was unveiled last month, and McConnell scrapped a planned vote at the end of June.
Democrats have been united in opposing the bill, calling on Republicans to instead work with them to try to fix problems with the existing Obamacare system.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) said the latest version of the GOP health care bill is “even meaner” than the original, in part because the Cruz-Lee amendment lowers premiums by creating huge increases in deductibles and co-pays.
McConnell hopes to hold a vote on the revised bill next week, after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office releases a new analysis of what it will cost and how many people it would insure. The bill’s supporters must first get 51 votes on a motion to proceed to the bill before a vote is taken on the actual legislation.