Senate cool to House’s Obamacare repeal bill
Key GOP legislators not yet on board with ACA overhaul.
WASHINGTON — S e n a t e Republicans wasted no time Friday showing they have little use for the House bill to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act amid fears among Americans that if it becomes law, people with pre-existing medical conditions will no longer be able to get affordable insurance.
“At this point, there seem to be more questions than answers about its conse - quences,” said moderate GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, whose vote may prove one of the hardest to get for President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“I d o n ’ t s u p p o r t t h e House bill as currently constructed,” said Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio. “I continue to have concerns that this bill does not do enough to protect Ohio’s Medicaid expan- sion population.”
And Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said over Twitter: “A bill — finalized yesterday, has not been scored, amendments not allowed, and 3 hours final debate — should be viewed with caution.”
The outspoken and immediate skepticism pointed to a long road ahead in the Senate, where Republicans have a slim 52-48 majority — proportionately even narrower than in the House, where the bill passed with just a fourvote margin. And for a president who’s already expressed disappointment in Congress’ slow-moving ways, more frustration seemed assured.
“I don’t think anyone in the Senate is going to be bullied into artific ial bench- marks or timelines,” said Josh Holmes, a GOP consultant and former chief of staff to McConnell.
S e n a t e l e a d e r s h a v e repeatedly vowed success. “Failure is not an option,” No. 2 Senate leader John Cornyn, R-Texas, said earlier this year.
McConnell plans to move forward under special procedures that allow legislation to pass with a simple majority vote, instead of the 60 usually required for major bills in the Senate. That means he will only need Republican votes, which is all he can rely on anyway since Democrats are refusing to participate in dismantling Obama’s law. But under complicated Senate rules, it also limits what can go into the legislation.
A n d wi t h o n l y a b a r e majorit y, McConnell c an afford to lose only two senators from his sometimes fractious caucus, which runs the gamut from moderates like Collins to conservatives like Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ted Cruz of Texas. Then there are those senators who are up for re-election in 2018. Only t wo are in any seri- “Never underestimate this president. He’s shown time and time again when he’s committed to something it’s going to get done.” — ous jeopardy, Dean Heller of Nevada and Jeff Flake of Arizona, but they are certain to be particularly cautious about casting their vote for anything that jeopardizes their constituents.
Hinting at the attacks to come as next year’s elections draw nearer, the Democratic House and Senate campaign committees both released digital ads lambasting supporters of the legislation. Major Democratic Super PAC American Bridge also released a digital ad declaring: “Tell Senate Republicans this is their mess now, and we are watching.”
T h e l e g i s l a t i o n c o u l d become a major issue for vulnerable House Republicans in divided districts, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has already threatened they will “glow in the dark” over their vote.
At the “IAmAPreexistingCondition” hashtag on Friday, Twitter users including actress Alyssa Milano described how the proposed House law could affect them or family members dealing with serious illnesses.
The House bill, passed 2 1 7-2 1 3 , wo u l d e n d t h e health care law’s fines on people who don’t purchase policies and erase its taxes on health industr y busi - ness e s a nd hi g her- e a r ning people.
It would dilute consumer-friendly insurance coverage requirements, letting states permit insurers to charge higher premiums for customers with pre-existing medical conditions.