Obamacare REPEAL IS BACK Called Graham-Cassidy Bill And It's SCARY CLOSE To Being Able To Pass

Obamacare REPEAL IS BACK Called Graham-Cassidy Bill And It's SCARY CLOSE To Being Able To Pass

Obamacare Repeal, Thought Dead in July, May Be Revived in Senate. Congressional efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act sprang back to life on Monday as Senate Republicans pushed for a showdown vote on new legislation that would do away with many of the health law’s requirements and bundle its funding into giant block grants to the states.

The Republican leaders of the latest repeal effort, Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, said their effort — considered all but impossible earlier this month — was gaining momentum. The seven-year drive to repeal President Barack Obama’s signature domestic achievement appeared to collapse in July when it fell one vote short in the Senate.

And the same three Republicans who opposed it then — John McCain of Arizona, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — have yet to commit to voting for the latest repeal bill. But the last-ditch repeal pitch received a jolt of energy on Monday when Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona, a Republican, strongly endorsed it, putting pressure on Mr. McCain, who already faced the prospect of having to vote against his best friend in the Senate, Mr. Graham. Mr. Ducey had been a skeptic of earlier bills to repeal and replace the health law. Under the Graham-Cassidy bill, millions could lose coverage, Medicaid would face cuts comparable to those in earlier repeal bills, and insurers in some states could charge higher premiums to people with pre-existing conditions. But only days remain before the expiration of special parliamentary language that protects repeal legislation from a filibuster in the Senate, and pressure is mounting for another vote. “I think the odds have improved,” said Senator John Thune of South Dakota, a member of the Republican leadership. “I just told Bill Cassidy he’s kind of the grave robber. This thing was six feet under, and I think he’s revived it.” It is still too early for Republican leaders to celebrate. Mr. McCain said he would pay attention to the views of his governor, but he also insisted that Republicans should hold hearings and consider amendments, rather than ramming the bill through the Senate. Later Monday, the Senate Finance Committee announced it would hold a hearing on the Graham-Cassidy bill early next week. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee also plans a hearing. “I’m not interested in only having an up-or-down vote on what’s one-fifth of the gross national product,” Mr. McCain said. Ms. Collins was similarly skeptical. “I’m concerned about what the effect would be on coverage; on Medicaid spending in my state; on the fundamental changes in Medicaid that would be made without the Senate holding a single hearing to evaluate them; and also on what the effect would be on premiums, particularly for older Americans between 50 and 64,” she said. In the latest fight, unlike the July showdown, repeal advocates must overcome one “no” vote from the right: Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, who said the new bill would leave too much of the Affordable Care Act in place.“This bill keeps 90 percent of the spending of Obamacare and reshuffles it,’’ Mr. Paul said on Monday. “Really, when you look at how it reshuffles it, it does it just to take money from the Democrat states and give it to Republican states.’’ If the Senate does not vote by the end of next week, it will become nearly impossible to repeal the health law because the drive to kill the Affordable Care Act will lose the procedural protections that allow it to pass the Senate with a simple majority, rather than the 60 votes that would otherwise be needed. Democrats sounded the alarm Monday, and the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer of New York, geared up for an all-out effort to block the Graham-Cassidy bill, which has support from President Trump.

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