A Senate bill designed to be a less ambitious version of ACA repeal and replace but would have risked worsening insurance market instability by eliminating the individual and employer mandate, failed to muster enough votes to pass in the early morning hours of Friday, according to a report by The Washington Post.
The vote for the so-called “Skinny Repeal” bill was 49-51. Senator John McCain, who criticized the tactics used by the GOP leadership — shrouding the health bill in secrecy until just before the vote — sided with Democrats in voting against the bill as did Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). He had flown to Washington, D.C. to take part in the debate after being diagnosed with brain cancer last week.
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McCain offered a statement explaining his vote as part of the drama that unfolded in the Senate Chamber captured by The Washington Post in a dramatic In a statement explaining his vote.
“I’ve stated time and time again that one of the major failures of Obamacare was that it was rammed through Congress by Democrats on a strict party-line basis without a single Republican vote,” he said in a statement explaining his vote. “We should not make the mistakes of the past.”
Analysis of the “Skinny Repeal” bill by the Congressional Budget Office determined it would have pushed up premiums 20 percent and caused 16 million to lose their health insurance. Little was known about the bill until Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took the wraps off the legislation Thursday. The vote was held in the middle of the night at a time few people would be engaged with the political process.
Other provisions in the bill would have axed funding for preventive healthcare and prohibited Medicaid beneficiaries from being reimbursed for Planned Parenthood services for one year
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Insurance industry groups such as America’s Health Insurance Plans came out against the bill. AHIP addressed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-New York) in a letter to the Senate this week.
The mid-August deadline for finalizing 2018 premiums is rapidly approaching, yet significant uncertainties remain. This continued uncertainty – combined with targeted proposals that would eliminate key elements of current law without new stabilizing solutions – will not solve the problems in the individual market, and in fact will result in higher premiums, fewer choices for consumers, and fewer people covered next year. We would oppose an approach that eliminates the individual coverage requirement, does not offer alternative continuous coverage solutions, and does not include measures to immediately stabilize the individual market.”
American Medical Association President Dr. David Barbe said in an emailed statement was pleased the bill failed to get the votes but pushed Congress to work together to stabilize the insurance market.
An AARP emailed statement read:
We need solutions that provide strong insurance markets protections, control costs, improve health care quality, and provide affordable coverage to all Americans.
It’s not clear what Congressional leaders will do. But maybe they will decide a bipartisanship effort to stabilize the insurance markets isn’t such a bad idea since doing nothing isn’t a smart option.
