Four Senate Republicans said Thursday they oppose the Senate’s new health care bill as written, meaning passage could be in jeopardy unless leaders tweak the bill enough to satisfy them.
Four Senate Republicans said Thursday they oppose the Senate’s new health care bill as written, meaning passage could be in jeopardy unless leaders tweak the bill enough to satisfy them.
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah said they opposed the draft legislation for a “variety of reasons, ” but they’ re still open to negotiation before the bill hits the floor.
“There are provisions in this draft that represent an improvement to our current health care system but it does not appear this draft as written will accomplish the most important promise that we made to Americans: to repeal Obamacare and lower their health care costs, ” they said in a joint statement.
Senate GOP leaders hold a 52-seat majority, so they cannot afford to lose more than two votes under special budget rules that allow them to gut Obamacare without facing a Democratic filibuster.
Their Obamacare replacement plan softens the edges of the House bill that President Trump reportedly called “mean, ” offering more generous tax subsidies for the poor to buy insurance and extending the lifespan of President Obama’s Medicaid expansion.
Yet Mr. Paul has blasted the refundable tax credits, saying they amount to “Obamacare lite, ” while Mr. Cruz and Mr. Lee wanted to gut more of Obamacare’s strictures on insurers to drive down premiums.
Mr. Johnson, meanwhile, has vocally opposed the secretive drafting process and fears the Senate might be rushing to a vote.
GOP leaders are eyeing a floor showdown next week, after the Congressional Budget Office scores their plan’s affect on federal spending and coverage.
While leaders might broker a deal, efforts to appease the conservatives risk alienating moderates who want to preserve coverage for their residents.
The bill maintains the same basic outline as the House proposal, repealing Obamacare’s “individual mandate” and the health exchanges and replacing them with tax credits aimed at helping those who don’ t get coverage through their jobs buy plans on the individual market.
The 142-page plan would also strip federal funding from Planned Parenthood, the country’s largest network of abortion clinics.
