New York Daily News editorial: Senate Republican vote –“An embarrassment wrapped in cruelty wrapped in political disaster.” (E)
“I don’t know whether we’re proceeding to the House bill, a new version of the Senate bill, the old version of the Senate bill, the 2015 repeal-and-hope-that-we-come-up-with something-in-two-years bill. I truly don’t.” (Senator Collins) (A)
“Deductibles could become so high under the GOP plan, the CBO said, that many low-income people might decide not to purchase a health insurance plan, even if the premiums were low.
“Senate Republicans have run into another problem in passing their ObamaCare replacement bill: it could increase deductibles by thousands of dollars, potentially alienating moderates who are already skeptical of the bill.
An analysis released Thursday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office concluded that a single policyholder purchasing a standard benchmark plan under the GOP bill could face a deductible of $13,000 in 2026.
Under current law, an individual making $56,800 would have a deductible of $5,000, while someone making $26,500 would have an $800 deductible. (B)
“Republican Senate leaders aim to hold a procedural vote as early as Tuesday to take up legislation to repeal or replace Obamacare, but it remained unclear which version of the bill senators would vote on…
Senator John Thune, a member of the Republican leadership, told “Fox News Sunday” the initial vote was simply a way to open debate on the bill so that senators from both parties could offer amendments.
“The first vote, which will occur sometime this week, will be to proceed to the consideration of that legislation and to at least have a debate where we can have an open amendment process,” Thune said.” (C)
“Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said Sunday that the Senate will vote this week on a motion to proceed on a healthcare bill passed by the House of Representatives.
During an appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” host John Dickerson asked Barrasso which legislation the upper chamber will come up for a vote.
“Well, it’s a vote, a motion to proceed to the bill that passed the House,” Barrasso said.
“That then comes to the Senate, and then we can vote, once we get on that bill, to amend it in various ways. And lots of members have different ideas on how it should be best amended to replace what is really a failing Obama healthcare plan.” (D)
New York Daily News editorial
“Enough already. Just stop. The Senate needs to call it quits on ever more pathetic attempts to slay the beast they call Obamacare, for the love of the 22 million or more Americans doomed to end up without coverage and insurance markets now dizzied with uncertainty…..
A replacement bill would, even in its second, supposedly kinder iteration, roll back Medicaid expansion that has enabled workers with low wages to afford decent coverage, and slash subsidies that make health insurance affordable for the working class. A cap on Medicaid, which has covered the poor for decades, would gut the program’s power to grow with the population…
An embarrassment wrapped in cruelty wrapped in political disaster.” (E)
(A) Obamacare vote nears with key details still missing, by Noam N. Levey, http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-senate-obamacare-chaos-20170721-story.html
(B) GOP wrestles with soaring deductibles in healthcare bill, by Jessie Hellmann, http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/343220-gop-wrestles-with-soaring-deductibles-in-healthcare-bill
(C) Republican strategy on healthcare bill in flux ahead of vote, Amanda Becker, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-healthcare-idUSKBN1A80QG
(D) Top Republican: Senate will vote to proceed to House healthcare bill, by Mallory Shelbourne , http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/343372-top-republican-senate-will-vote-to-proceed-to-house-healthcare-bill
(E) The Senate’s sickness: A compulsion to keep trying a failed health care bill, http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/senate-health-care-sickness-article-1.3346010