After Republican leaders in the Senate introduced a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare that closely resembled the healthcare legislation approved in the House in May but didn't have enough support, they released a revised version. However, four Republican senators came out against the updated healthcare bill, essentially killing any chance it had of moving forward. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell then said Republicans would try to repeal Obamacare without legislation to replace it, but once again, he can't whip up the votes.
Democrats oppose the bill to repeal and replace Obamacare across the board, as it includes deep cuts to Medicaid, proposes withholding all federal funds from Planned Parenthood for a year, and would allow states to opt out of guaranteeing coverage for essential health benefits such as prescription drugs, preventative care, and maternity care. They also strongly oppose the efforts to simply repeal. With zero Democratic support, either bill will fail if more than two Republicans vote against it.
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The majority of conservative senators haven't concretely chosen a side (at least not publicly), but multiple have raised concerns about the BCRA. After analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office showed that 22 million more people would lose insurance by 2026 if the first version of BCRA became law, these GOP senators said they'll vote "no" on the new Better Care Reconciliation Act, too:
Susan Collins, Maine
Collins opposes the measure because of how many Americans would lose insurance due to the proposed cuts to Medicaid and Planned Parenthood funding. When the new version was released, she tweeted that the deep cuts to Medicaid were still there.
Still deep cuts to Medicaid in Senate bill. Will vote no on MTP. Ready to work w/ GOP & Dem colleagues to fix flaws in ACA.
— Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins) July 13, 2017
Rand Paul, Kentucky
Paul, on the other hand, thinks the bill keeps too much of President Obama's Affordable Care Act in place. "We keep 10 or 12 of the Obamacare regulations," he told CNN of the initial BCRA. "I'm concerned that the death spiral of Obamacare may get even worse in the Republican version." He doesn't believe the revamped version solved this.
I'll discuss w/ him how to fix bill & get more to a YES on real repeal, things I've tried to tell Senate leaders with no result so far
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) June 27, 2017
Mike Lee, Utah
In the same vein, Lee doesn't think the new Better Care Reconciliation Act is enough of a reform. He wrote in a press release on Monday: "In addition to not repealing all of the Obamacare taxes, it doesn’t go far enough in lowering premiums for middle class families; nor does it create enough free space from the most costly Obamacare regulations."
The American people and @realdonaldtrump deserve a real repeal bill. We'll keep fighting until we get one.
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) July 18, 2017
Jerry Moran, Kansas
Moran also issued a statement on Monday, saying: "If we leave the federal government in control of everyday healthcare decisions, it is more likely that our healthcare system will devolve into a single-payer system, which would require a massive federal spending increase."
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After McConnell floated ditching the BCRA and just repealing Obamacare, the following Republican senators said they'd vote "no" on that motion, as well.
Susan Collins, Maine
Collins took to Twitter on Tuesday to make it clear she would also vote against repealing the current healthcare law, as she did in 2015, saying that plan isn't constructive.
Lisa Murkowski, Alaska
Murkowski also posted a statement on Twitter, saying the Senate should engage in bipartisan efforts to address the failures of the Affordable Care Act, not simply repeal it.
Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia
Similarly, Capito said she'll only vote for legislation to move forward if there's a replacement plan she agrees with. "I did not come to Washington to hurt people," she wrote in a statement.
MORE: I will only vote to proceed to repeal legislation if I am confident there is a replacement plan that addresses my concerns.
— Shelley Moore Capito (@SenCapito) July 18, 2017
We'll continue to update this story as the vote progresses. This story was originally published on June 27, 2017.
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