Only hours after it was revealed to the public, the Senate health care bill received a critical blow from the Republican Party’s right-flank, with four GOP Senators stating they won’t support it.
The opposition among Republicans all but assures that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) expedited timeline to pass the legislation won’t work out. It also puts GOP plans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in doubt.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is leading the opposition, alongside Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.).
“The four of us have said we cannot support the bill in its current form,” Sen. Paul told reporters on Thursday afternoon. “It looks like we’re keeping Obamacare—not repealing it,” he added.
Given that there will be unified Democratic opposition to the measure, McConnell can only afford two defections within his party to keep the bill alive, so the emerging Paul coalition presents a grave threat to the legislation.
The Senate bill, known as the Better Care Reconciliation Act, mirrors the broad contours of the House-passed American Health Care Act (AHCA).
It would repeal many of the taxes on the wealthy that help financed the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The legislation would also do away with the individual mandate that required Americans to purchase health insurance.
The Senate legislation would additionally let states opt of regulations that require insurance companies to offer basic benefits and rules that stop insurers from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions.
Both bills also would defund Planned Parenthood for one year.
In some significant areas, however, the Senate proposal differs from its House counterpart. While both bills eliminate Medicaid expansion under the ACA, the Senate plan waits longer to phase it out. But following that delay, the Senate bill would cut the public health insurance program more significantly than the House version does.
Both bills would ultimately turn Medicaid into a block grant program—a significant transformation of one of the cornerstone’s of the nation’s social safety net.
When it comes to actually repealing the ACA, the Senate doesn’t go quite as far as the House would, which could ultimately spell the legislation’s demise. The Senate bill would keep in place Obamacare subsidies that help low-income Americans purchase health insurance.
Capitol Hill is still waiting on an official score from the Congressional Budget Office to determine how much the bill will cost, what effect it will have on insurance premiums, and how many people will be left out of the coverage. The office said it should have its estimates ready by early next week.
The CBO reported last month that the House-passed AHCA would lead to 23 million more Americans going uninsured.
Leader McConnell had initially planned to shove the bill through the upper chamber before the end of next week when Congress leaves for recess. He invoked rules to allow the bill to be brought to the floor without a committee of jurisdiction first taking it up.
On Thursday morning, McConnell even objected to a request by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to make the bill available online along with its CBO score for at least 72 hours before it’s voted on.
Even President Trump admitted on Thursday that the legislation would likely require more work. “It’s going to very good. A little negotiation, but it’s going to be very good,” he told assembled reporters in the White House.
A group of several dozen protesters, including disabled individuals in wheelchairs, showed up outside of Sen. McConnell’s office to protest the healthcare bill. The peaceful sit-in was broken up by Capitol Police who were seen dragging people from their wheelchairs and carrying them away.
“No cuts to Medicaid!” the protesters chanted as they were hauled off one by one.
