Affordable Care Act Back In Senate; Expected To Be Voted Next Week, Or Impossible To Be Approved
It has been reported that Obama Care might be back as it was brought to life once again. The congressional effort wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act on Monday, as the Senate Republican pushed a showdown vote on a new legislation. This would do away with many of the requirements with regards to the health law and would bundle its funding into giant block grants to the states.
The leaders from the Republican that joined the latest repeal effort are Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. They mentioned that the effort was gaining momentum. It has been known that the seven-year drive to repeal former President Barack Obama's signature domestic achievement appeared to disrupt in July.
As follows, it fell short with just one vote in the Senate. Thus, three Republicans who opposed the health law then has not yet committed to voting for the latest repeal bill. The Republican Senators who opposed it were Susan Collins of Maine, John McCain of Arizona, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, according to Las Vegas Sun.
On Monday, the last-ditch repeal pitch received a jolt. It is when Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona who also a Republican strongly endorsed it. This puts pressure on Mr. McCain who already faced the prospect of having to vote against his best friend in the Senate, Mr. Graham. Thus, Mr. Ducey had already been a skeptic of the earlier bills to repeal and replace the health law.
Furthermore, under the Graham-Cassidy bill, the loss of coverage can happen to millions of citizens. Medicaid would face cuts compared to ones on the earlier repeal bills. The insurers in some of the states could charge higher premiums to people that already have existing conditions.
Meanwhile, if the Senate could not vote by the end of next week, it will be barely impossible to repeal the health law. It is because the drive to kill the Affordable Care Act will lose procedural protections that allow it to pass the Senate with a simple majority. It would work rather than the 60 votes that are needed, according to NY Times.
