That means Republican leaders must flip at least seven of the nine GOP senators who have already said publicly they oppose the bill, a challenge compounded by the recess.
.. In a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, 16% of respondents said the version of the bill passed by the House was a good idea.
.. Mr. Hutchinson has advocated that the health bill either maintain higher levels of funding or exempt elderly and disabled people from caps on Medicaid spending. Without the extra federal help, he said, he would be forced to end the Medicaid expansion immediately.
.. “Providing extra flexibility to the governors to design programs which are suited for their particular populations is a good thing,” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, told reporters last week. “But we cannot pretend that giving me all the flexibility in the world will allow me to provide meaningful coverage to the same people who have it today if you give me half as much money.”