GOP Senate leader charts plan for moving on new health bill

WASHINGTON — Republicans will introduce their reworked health care bill Thursday and begin trying to muscle it through the Senate next week, the chamber’s GOP leader said Tuesday as the party tried healing divisions threatening the chances for one of its top goals.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., also said he would delay the chamber’s August recess for two weeks, a rare move he said would give lawmakers time to break logjams on health care, defense and executive branch nominations.

Growing numbers of Republicans, chagrined at Congress’ failure to send any major bills to President Donald Trump, had called on McConnell to make that move.

Earlier, longtime Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said he was “very pessimistic” that the health care measure will be approved. And Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky warned leaders about retaliation by conservative voters should they react to a collapse of the measure by striking a deal with Democrats.

The GOP bill would ease coverage requirements Obama’s 2010 statute placed on insurers, like paying for maternity services; erase his tax penalties on people who don’t buy policies; cut Medicaid, the health insurance program for the poor, disabled and nursing home patients; and repeal most tax boosts that law levied on wealthier people and medical firms.

Since his June retreat, McConnell has been reshaping the measure in hopes of winning GOP votes.

Underscoring continued uncertainty, No. 3 Senate GOP leader John Thune of South Dakota would not make predictions about the health care vote but said, “I think we have narrowed it down to where we know where the decision points are.”

The revised bill is also expected to ease some of its earlier Medicaid cuts and beef up federal payments states could use to help insurers contain consumers’ out-ofpocket costs.