Senate Health Care Vote Likely Delayed Again
by Christian Worstell | Published April 26, 2021 | Reviewed by John Krahnert
A Senate vote on the proposed Better Care Reconciliation Act bill didn’t happen before the targeted July 4 date, largely because of waning Republican support. The vote isn’t happening immediately after the holiday because of a weeklong Senate recess. And it doesn’t appear a vote on the health care bill will be held even when senators return to office.
Senate Vote Not Likely Until Week of July 17
These are the reports coming out of Capitol Hill as Senate Republicans take a break from their months-long push to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. According to senators and officials both on Capitol Hill and in the White House, a vote is not likely until the week of July 17.
Until then, GOP leaders will take time to review feedback from Republican senators that are still withholding support for the bill and make any changes needed to try to secure the 50 votes needed for the bill to pass the Senate.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., was quoted in POLITICO as saying that the week of July 17 would be the week the Senate starts “moving on it,” while Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., was less optimistic, saying that a vote was still “several weeks away.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tx., who recently proposed a compromise to a full-on Obamacare repeal, said a vote on the bill would happen in a “couple weeks.”
The senate goes on another recess for the entire month of August, meaning if the vote doesn’t happen by July 28, it would stall out until after the Labor Day holiday. The Trump administration had hoped to repeal and replace Obamacare immediately after inauguration day in January.
Winning Over Senate Voters
With no Democratic support, Republicans will need to convince 50 of their 52 available Senate voters to side with the bill in order for it to pass. And that has proved difficult so far with holdouts taking place on both sides of the Republican caucus.
Some more moderate Republicans, such as Susan Collins of Maine, have withheld support because of the bill’s proposed cuts to Medicaid expansion and the 22 million people that could be left uninsured in the bill’s wake.
Pulling in the opposite direction are more conservative Republicans, such as Rand Paul of Kentucky, who wish to see even further loosening of Obamacare’s regulations.
Learn more about the AHCA by reading these featured articles:
- The CBO Report on Trumpcare
- Will Trumpcare Affect Employer-Sponsored Plans?
- Will Trumpcare Pass the Senate?
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Sources
POLITICO: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/06/when-will-the-senate-vote-health-care-bill-240259
The Hill: http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/340845-senate-republicans-say-they-are-weeks-away-from-healthcare-vote
Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/sen-susan-collins-wants-senate-healthcare-bill-dramatically-changed/article/2627755
Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/rand-paul-bcra-healthcare-senate-bill-letter-2017-6
Christian Worstell is a health care and policy writer for MedicareSupplement.com. He has written hundreds of articles helping people better understand their Medicare coverage options.
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