Overnight Healthcare: Senate rejects repeal-only ObamaCare plan | Ads target Heller, Capito over vote | Dem says ObamaCare repeal effort moving US ‘toward single-payer’
Senate rejects repeal-only ObamaCare plan
Senators on Wednesday rejected a key proposal that would repeal much of ObamaCare, despite intense pressure from conservatives.
Senators voted 55-45 against an amendment from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) that would repeal the Affordable Care Act and give lawmakers two years to come up with a replacement.
GOP Sens. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), Susan Collins (Maine), Dean Heller (Nev.), John McCain (Ariz.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Rob Portman (Ohio) joined all Democrats and independents in voting no.
A vote on the amendment, which was widely expected to fail, was originally scheduled for late Wednesday morning but was delayed as senators tried to get clarity on a provision tied to abortion.
It was the second healthcare plan rejected after the Senate voted down a separate repeal-and-replace amendment on Tuesday night.
Three GOP senators had already announced they wouldn’t support repeal-only. Alexander, the chairman of the Senate’s health committee, predicted he didn’t “think there are 40 votes to repeal” without a replacement.
But conservatives ramped up pressure for GOP senators to support the proposal, noting Senate Republicans passed a repeal bill in 2015 when they knew then-President Obama would veto it.
“Republicans promised to repeal ObamaCare, and as we move forward in this process, I urge them to join me in supporting a clean repeal of as much of this disastrous law as possible,” Paul said ahead of the vote.
And check out The Hill’s live blog of the Senate debate to recap the day.
Ads target Heller, Capito over healthcare vote
A progressive group is targeting GOP Sens. Dean Heller (Nev.) and Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.) for supporting a crucial procedural vote on healthcare.
Save My Care launched a six figure digital and TV ad buy in Nevada and West Virginia attacking the senators for “breaking their promise” by supporting a motion to proceed to debate on a healthcare bill Tuesday.
“Senator Capito just broke her promise by casting the deciding vote to repeal our healthcare,” the narrator says in one of the ads.
“Because of Capito, over 100,000 West Virginians could lose their insurance.”
Dem says ObamaCare repeal effort moves US ‘toward single-payer’
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) said the Republican effort to repeal and replace ObamaCare may expedite the timeline of transitioning to government-funded healthcare by about a decade.
“They have made the public more aware of Medicaid than ever before, specifically, and healthcare generally,” Blumenauer said Wednesday at The Hill’s Health Rx: Building Affordability & Access event. “They’ve accelerated the move toward single-payer, probably advancing it by a decade.”
On Tuesday, Republicans voted to begin debate on an ObamaCare repeal bill. It’s unclear whether the Senate will be able to muster enough votes to pass a bill — and exactly what the product would look like.
GOP leader: Senate could pass scaled-down ObamaCare repeal
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) indicated Wednesday that is it likely the Senate will try to pass a scaled-down ObamaCare repeal bill as a way to move to negotiations with the House.
The No. 2 Senate Republican told reporters Wednesday that a scaled-down, “skinny” bill “seems to have a lot of benefits, getting us to conference.”
Republicans view the so-called skinny bill as a way to keep the repeal process alive, given the chamber’s apparent inability to get the votes for a more sweeping bill.
Health secretary urges Senate to find ‘lowest common denominator’ on ObamaCare repeal bill
Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price urged Republican senators to pass any healthcare bill that can get 50 votes in the upper chamber.
“What we need to do in the Senate is figure out what the lowest common denominator is, what gets us to 50 votes, so we can move forward on healthcare legislation,” Price said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Wednesday morning.
“Legislation is one step at a time. And so we’ll see what the next step is and move on from there.”
What we’re reading
Trump says it’s too expensive to care for transgender service members. Here’s the truth. (STAT)
Paid parental leave may be the idea that transcends politics (Kaiser Health News)
Anthem raises outlook on growth in plan enrollment (Wall Street Journal)
State by state
Dismantling of state’s health reforms in 1993 may offer lessons for ObamaCare repeal (The Seattle Times)
Illinois pays out Medicaid money, still has billions in outstanding bills (Chicago Tribune)
‘Nobody’s speaking English’: in Detroit suburbs, Arab-American enrollment in ObamaCare breeds resentment (Vox)
In case you missed it from The Hill
Families make emotional plea for diabetes research funding
Scaramucci: We are moving to a ‘freer’ healthcare system
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