Lobbies are split on whether to shape a new measure or try to kill it
Largely shut out of the talks, they actively opposed the bill, firing off angry letters and in some cases airing ads aimed at vulnerable House Republicans.
.. in the Senate, which hopes to complete its own version of a health overhaul by August
.. “We are not philosophically opposed to ‘repeal and replace,’ but Americans need to have a conversation about whether replacement is better than what we’ve got,” said Andrew Gurman, president of the American Medical Association. The House health measure “was in our estimation a potentially very bad bill.”
.. Some groups, believing it is inevitable that legislation passes the Senate in some form, plan to offer proposals they believe would improve it. Others, in contrast, hope they can convince at least three GOP Senators to oppose any effort, stripping Republican leaders of the majority they need.
.. Hospitals are concerned about the impact of potential cuts to Medicaid, and their proposals include using state waivers to introduce structural changes to the program that could bring down costs to the federal government.
Cornyn as FBI director would cause big Senate shakeup
It would trigger a new round of leadership elections and a nasty confirmation fight — in the midst of Obamacare negotiations.
.. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the No. 3 Republican, would be the early favorite to succeed Cornyn as whip. A source close to Thune said he is likely to run for the whip position if Cornyn leaves the Senate.
.. Cornyn’s elevation could also disrupt fragile negotiations to repeal Obamacare. Cornyn has been in nearly every meeting regarding the Senate’s attempt to pass a new health care bill.
.. If he’s offered the job and accepts, Cornyn’s confirmation could turn into a brutal partisan affair that would grip the Senate for weeks.
.. But Cornyn is also an intensely partisan Republican and would surely face attacks over his recent defense of Trump even as the Republican previously called for special prosecutors during Barack Obama’s presidency.
.. Democrats are already suggesting that they will make their votes contingent on a special prosecutor being appointed to investigate Trump associates’ ties with Russia.
.. The Texas Republican has deep relationships with his GOP Senate colleagues from two terms running the party’s campaign arm and said in a recent interview that he wants to be Senate leader someday.
.. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is showing no signs of giving up the top leadership job. The Kentucky senator is plotting a run for reelection in 2020, which could keep him as leader until 2026.
.. the firing of Comey has raised the question of whether future presidents will summarily fire directors chosen by the other party.
Divided Senate Republicans Turn to Health Care With a Rough Road Ahead
The top Republican in the Senate, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, has a reputation as a shrewd tactician and a wily strategist — far more than his younger counterpart in the House, Speaker Paul D. Ryan.
So the Senate majority leader’s decision to create a 13-man working group on health care, including staunch conservatives and ardent foes of the Affordable Care Act — but no women — has been widely seen on Capitol Hill as a move to placate the right
.. The prospect of higher premiums for older Americans living in rural areas will also loom larger in a legislative chamber where Republicans from sparsely populated states hold outsize power.
.. The Senate Republican working group on health care includes the party’s top leaders, as well as three committee chairmen and two of the most conservative senators, Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah.
Mr. McConnell’s decision to include himself and his top three lieutenants — but not Ms. Collins, Ms. Murkowski or more junior women Republicans like Deb Fischer of Nebraska and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia — speaks volumes about his direction and has raised eyebrows.
.. By excluding Ms. Collins and Mr. Cassidy, perhaps viewed as potential troublemakers for the bill, Senate leaders may have inadvertently created a dangerous alliance. The two senators now have no obligation to fall in line behind the working group’s final product and will almost surely continue to work on their own ideas. Together, they and their allies could hold near-veto power.
.. Beyond neglecting Republican women, Senate Republican leaders overlooked Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only black member of their conference. Before his congressional career, Mr. Scott sold insurance and was owned one of the most successful Allstate insurance branches in South Carolina.
.. Mr. McConnell also left out of the group the only two Republican senators clearly in the Democrats’ cross hairs for 2018 — Dean Heller of Nevada and Jeff Flake of Arizona. With re-election campaigns looming, they will have their own political calculus to make. Both states have expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, providing coverage to hundreds of thousands of people.
.. Hospital executives, among the most outspoken critics of the House bill, are in town for the annual meeting of the American Hospital Association and will lobby the Senate this week. Thomas P. Nickels, an executive vice president of the association, predicted that the Senate would produce an “utterly different version” of the legislation.
.. The House bill would roll back the expansion of Medicaid, which has provided coverage to about 11 million people. The Congressional Budget Office said the bill’s Medicaid changes would save more than $800 billion over 10 years.
.. Mr. Thune, not wanting to create a new middle-class entitlement, would like to provide more financial assistance to lower-income people and less to higher-income people.
The Senate Takes Up Health Care Reform
The Senate will take up health care reform after a revised version of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) passed through the House last Thursday.
Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO), a member of Senate leadership, said that the Senate will wait for a new CBO score before preceding to a vote.
.. Mick Mulvaney, head of the Office of Management and Budget, said, “The bill that passed out of the House is most likely not going to be the bill that is put in front of the president.”
Members of the working group include Sens.
- Mitch McConnell,
- Bob Portman (R-OH),
- John Corynyn (R-TX),
- John Thune (R-SD),
- Mike Enzi (R-WY),
- Orrin Hatch (R-UT),
- Lamar Alexander (R-TN),
- Tom Cotton (R-AR),
- Cory Gardner (R-CO),
- Ted Cruz (R-TX),
- John Barrasso (R-WY), and
- Pat Toomey (R-PA).
.. The Senate working group does not feature two of the bill’s biggest critics, Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA).
.. The two senators joined a separate group of Republicans studying potential health care solutions including Sens.
- Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV),
- Johnny Isakson (R-GA), and
- Mike Rounds (R-SD)
- Susan Collins (R-ME)
- Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
.. Senators Cassidy and Collins released a separate Obamacare repeal bill, The Patient Freedom Act.
States have three options under the Cassidy-Collins plan:
- Retain the Affordable Care Act, allowing individuals and small businesses able to purchase insurance on state exchanges and low-income residents can receive federal subsidies to cover the cost of the program. States that expanded Medicaid can continue to provide increased Medicaid coverage.
- States can receive most of the federal funding, including Medicaid expansion and subsidies to create tax-free Health Savings Accounts for low-income citizens. Low-income residents can use the HSAs to purchase insurance and pay for health care.
- Allow states to create an alternative solution without federal assistance. States would retain the power to design and regulate insurance markets without federal intervention.
.. Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Ted Cruz (R-TX) were the strongest opponents of the American Health Care Act. Senator Paul crafted his own conservative plan for repealing Obamacare and worked with the Freedom Caucus to push for an even more conservative Obamacare repeal bill. The Freedom Caucus endorsed Sen. Paul’s plan.