TrumpCare Page

 

  • If you didn’t like or couldn’t afford ObamaCare then you really wouldn’t like the Trump Republican version, let’s call it TrumpCare, because it will cost you a lot more upfront. I’ve heard between 15% to 25% higher, I’ve also heard between $1,500. and $5,000. more per year.  And if you drop healthcare and try to get it again it will cost you even more, by 30%.  The subsidies (the help to get healthcare insurance) for middle and moderate income people will be a lot less, in most cases not enough help to actually get healthcare insurance (I heard 1 example of if you got a $10,000. subsidy under ObamaCare then that would drop to $4,000. under Trump Care) and they are freezing Medicaid expansion for lower and low income people so some of them will be just left out in the cold, some would have to decide whether to eat or see a doctor.  Certain people will get tax credits although the rates will go by age not income but still some how the rich people will get the biggest tax breaks and middle, moderate and lower income people will end up paying more in taxes.  All this may be fine for people 20 years old but for people 40 years old and older not so much; older people would have less healthcare and pay more for it.  Even though Trump lied and said people would not lose coverage 14 million people by 2018 and 24 million people over time who have healthcare now would lose healthcare.  So that means that all the 20 million people who got healthcare under ObamaCare that never had it before plus 4 million more people that did have healthcare before ObamaCare would lose healthcare.  They say everyone will have access to healthcare but access is not the same as having healthcare, I have access to a dozen houses but that doesn’t mean that I can get them or have them.  Even people in Trump’s own party hate Trump Care.

 

In the final 24 hours before the final vote that Trump and Ryan demanded for 3/24/17 the Republicans removed services, which were Essential Health Benefits under Obama Care, from TrumpCare making it legal for insurance companies to not cover the services in the following list even if you already have insurance in a final attempt to get TrumpCare passed in the House by the House Freedom Caucus formerly known as the Tea Party Caucus Republicans:

  • Outpatient Care
  • Emergency Services
  • Hospitalization
  • Pregnancy, Maternity and Newborn Care
  • Mental Health and Substance Abuse Disorder Services
  • Prescription Drugs
  • Rehabilitative and Habilitative
  • Laboratory Services
  • Preventive Services
  • Pediatric Services

The House Freedom Caucus formerly known as the Tea Party Caucus Republicans still would not vote for TrumpCare even though removing those services removed so much from healthcare that there would not be anything left; people basically would be giving money away to insurance companies for doing absolutely nothing.  Why would anybody want to pay any insurance company for this?  It does not cover anything at all and yet, some how, it will still cost people more money.  So obviously the House Freedom Caucus formerly known as the Tea Party Caucus Republican’s answer to healthcare is none at all.  This is why Ryan pulled the bill from the House floor without voting on it and ObamaCare remains the law of the land until the Republicans do something else, stay tuned, now is not the time to stop paying attention.

 

 

 

TrumpCare still has several steps to go before people get stuck with this mess so don’t panic and freak out just yet.

  1. Just the 1st step was passing in the House.
  2. TrumpCare would still have to get passed in the Senate and some say that this version of TrumpCare is Dead On Arrival in the Senate; the Senators are saying they will change TrumpCare.  So if the Senate changes TrumpCare then 2nd the Senate would have to pass their version of TrumpCare.
  3. Then 3rd there is a House and Senate Conference Committee to reconcile the differences between the Senate version of TrumpCare and the House version of TrumpCare and combine the two versions, then that results in a brand new 3rd version of TrumpCare.
  4. Then 4th that combined version would have to pass the House again.
  5. Then 5th that combined version would have to pass the Senate again.
  6. Before 6th getting signed by Trump and becoming law.

And a lot of bills do not even make it through all of that, some die in the Senate or at some other point along the way.

Rachel Maddow makes several points about TrumpCare.  The same day the House voted for this abomination of a healthcare bill Trump told Australia’s Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, “I shouldn’t say this to the great gentleman, my friend from Australia, because they have better healthcare than we do”.  Bernie Sanders, for one, was highly amused by Trump’s unlikely declaration of support for Australia’s health care system.  Appearing on MSNBC Thursday, Sanders laughed after watching the footage of Trump speaking to Turnbull.  “The President has just said it!” Sanders said. “That’s great! Let’s take a look at the Australian health care system. And let’s move. Maybe he wants to look at the Canadian health system. Or systems throughout Europe. Thank you, Mr. President!”  Of course Australia has better healthcare than we do; Australia and most civilized countries have single-payer universal healthcare because healthcare is, to most civilized countries and should be to the US, a right not a product for the privileged few.  We will see what happens next, stay tuned, now is not the time to stop paying attention.

 

  • Even Trump calls the House health care bill ‘mean’.  But that hasn’t made any impression on the Senate Republicans because while everyone has been focused on testimonies in the House Intelligence Committee hearings on Russian interference in the 2016 US election the Senate Republicans have used that opportunity for something else.  The Senate Republicans have been litigating their health care bill in secret.  Now, Republican lawmakers say the public will only be able to see the Senate’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) replacement plan when they can secure the 51 votes needed to pass their bill.  In other words, when it is too late for anyone to do anything about it.

Here on All In with Chris Hayes 6/13/17 Senator Elizabeth Warren pressed Republican Bill Cassidy for information about the GOP health care bill that’s being drafted in secret.

Here on The Rachel Maddow Show Chuck Schumer, top Senate Democrat, talks with Rachel Maddow about why Republicans are hiding the drafting of their version of an Obamacare replacement.

Here on All In with Chris Hayes a small group of Senate Republicans won’t show the secret health care bill to Democrats, the public, or even many Republicans.  And they can’t even explain what it’s supposed to do.

Senate Democrats say they’re prepared to obstruct as much of the chamber’s business as they can to force Senate Republicans open up their health care debate to the public.  The maneuver is an escalation in the Senate’s debate on repealing and replacing Obamacare.  Republicans are developing their health care plan in secret, completely forgoing the usual process of holding public committee hearings and having experts testify about proposed legislation.  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has made the calculation that it’s better to have a secretive process and rush a bill to the floor, given the House’s raucous, if abbreviated, debate and the deep unpopularity of its bill.  Some Republican senators have blanched at the behind-closed-doors process, but haven’t committed to voting against the bill in protest.  Democrats had been reluctant to shut the Senate down, as they do have some power to do, but today’s news marks a notable change in tactics for the minority.  Democrats can’t completely stop the Senate’s business or prevent Republicans from producing a secret health care plan and trying to rush it to the floor.  But they can make the process more painful by blocking routine Senate business, as Vox’s Jeff Stein wrote recently.  The move also helps draw attention to the almost-unprecedented opacity being deployed by the GOP.

We do know this: There will likely be legislation for Republicans to view the week ending June 23rd.  Much of its largest outlines will mimic the House version passed in May.  Parts of it will be different.  It’s almost certain to result in millions fewer Americans having insurance.  It will also enact big savings for Medicaid.  Here’s what we know so far, and what we don’t, about the emerging bill:

1. The bill’s 50-vote pathway to passage is most likely to circumvent Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the two senators at each end of their party’s spectrum.  Collins, a moderate, was the only Republican currently in Congress to vote against an Obamacare repeal bill in 2015, and the libertarian-minded Paul was the only one in his party to oppose a budget resolution earlier this year kicking off the whole process.  If that’s the case, McConnell will have to get every single other Republican on board in the closely divided Senate (and that’s counting on Vice President Pence as a tie-breaker), including Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who has lately been displaying her displeasure at how the whole health-care effort is unfolding.

2. The Senate measure seems poised to enact deeper Medicaid cuts than the House bill.  The Senate bill is shaping up not only to convert Medicaid to a leaner per-capita funding system, but also tie its growth rate to an even slower-growing index than under the House version (the Consumer Price Index for urban consumers, instead of what’s known as CPI-Medical).  Conservative senators, most prominently Senator Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.), love this idea.

3. The Senate legislation is likely to gradually phase down the Affordable Care Act’s higher federal payments for the expanded Medicaid population.  The phase down could take three years, or maybe longer.  This would be a concession to moderates who don’t want to look like they’re pushing people off Medicaid too abruptly.

4. The measure seems ready to repeal or delay some or all of the ACA’s taxes.  The levies that might be repealed include the ACA’s health-insurance tax and a tax on medical devices, two revenue streams the industry has vigorously lobbied to eliminate.  But lawmakers have yet to make a final decision on that front.  Much of the final verdict will have to do with how much funding they need to free up in order to pay for the bill’s ultimate benefits.

5. The Senate bill is likely to include a more generous version of insurance subsidies, tying them not just to age as in the House bill, but also to income.

6. The measure will likely exclude language banning federally subsidized health plans from covering abortions.  The Senate parliamentarian has yet to make a final decision on whether such language is allowed under budget reconciliation rules.  But from what we’re hearing, even antiabortion advocates for such a ban acknowledge it’s not likely to pass muster under the so-called “Byrd rules” governing what can go in the Senate bill.

Here’s something else we know: Democrats are doing all they can to get in the way.  They ultimately can’t block Republicans from passing a health-care bill, since all the GOP needs is a simple majority using budget rules.

 

Senate Republicans’ proposal to rewrite the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) would scale back federal funding for Medicaid, change the subsidies available to help low- and moderate-income people buy private insurance, end the mandate that most people buy insurance and repeal taxes that helped expand coverage to about 20 million Americans.  Here’s USA Today’s look at how the bill released June 22nd could affect you.

It’s part Obamacare-replace, part sweeping-Medicaid-overhaul.  Senate Republican leaders posted their 142-page health care proposal.  (Read the full bill here on PBS).  It is, notably, a “draft” bill, meaning that now Republicans will negotiate among themselves before an expected vote next week.  “We’re going to make a lot of changes over the next seven days,” South Carolina Senator Tim Scott told reporters.  But this is the key starting point.  Here is our initial look at what the Senate bill proposes on PBS.

Former President Barack Obama posted a blistering attack on the Republican-sponsored Senate bill that would significantly change his signature health-care law, calling it a “massive transfer of wealth” from the middle-class and poor to the richest Americans.  “The Senate bill … is not a health care bill,” Obama wrote in a long Facebook message issued hours after the bill was unveiled.  “It hands enormous tax cuts to the rich and to the drug and insurance companies, paid for by cutting health care for everybody else.”  Obama wrote that the bill will lead to higher insurance premiums for people enrolled in private individual insurance plans, as well as larger out-of-pocket health costs.  “Simply put, if there’s a chance you might get sick, get old, or start a family — this bill will do you harm,” Obama wrote.  The former president, who left office in January, also called on Republicans to reconsider their effort to undo the Affordable Care Act.  Read Obama’s entire Facebook post here on CNBC.

On The Rachel Maddow Show Rachel Maddow tells the history of ADAPT and the activism of disabled Americans and points out the leadership role these activists have taken in challenging the Republican plan to take Medicaid away from millions.

On The Rachel Maddow Show Senator Chris Murphy talks with Rachel Maddow about the Republican tactic to try to quickly push their health bill through hoping Americans won’t notice, and the importance of public feedback, particularly to persuadable Republicans.

On All In with Chris Hayes The Senate health care bill is a repudiation of every promise the president made to the American public about his approach to the health care system.

On The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell Majority Leader Mitch McConnell doesn’t yet have the votes for the health care bill that cuts Medicaid and four GOP senators haven’t committed to voting yes.  Neera Tanden and Adam Jentleson join Lawrence O’Donnell.

The American Medical Association, the nation’s largest doctors’ group, opposes the Senate health care bill, the organization announced in a letter to Senate leaders June 26th.  “Medicine has long operated under the precept of Primum non nocere, or ‘first, do no harm.’  The draft legislation violates that standard on many levels,” American Medical Association CEO James Madara wrote to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).  “It seems highly likely that a combination of smaller subsidies resulting from lower benchmarks and the increased likelihood of waivers of important protections such as required benefits, actuarial value standards, and out of pocket spending limits will expose low and middle income patients to higher costs and greater difficulty in affording care,” the AMA’s letter says.

The legislation would make tax credits for private health insurance created by the Affordable Care Act available to fewer people, reduce their value and tie them to plans that have larger deductibles and higher out-of-pocket costs than the policies sold under Affordable Care Act rules.  The bill also would permit states to make sweeping changes to insurance market rules, which would allow insurers to offer very skimpy plans that don’t come with a basic set of guaranteed benefits and that could exclude treatments and medicines for people with high-cost ailments.

The AMA’s letter is particularly scathing when it comes to the GOP’s efforts to reduce Medicaid spending by imposing cap on federal spending.  “The Senate proposal to artificially limit the growth of Medicaid expenditures below even the rate of medical inflation threatens to limit states’ ability to address the health care needs of their most vulnerable citizens,” the letter says.  “It would be a serious mistake to lock into place another arbitrary and unsustainable formula that will be extremely difficult and costly to fix.”  Read the AMA’s full letter here.  Trump told senators the House bill was “mean” and he wanted the Senate bill to have more “heart.”  I guess this is all the heart the Republicans could muster up.

On The Rachel Maddow Show Ezra Levin, co-founder of the “Indivisible” movement, talks with Rachel Maddow about the growth in reach of Indivisible activism, the success of organizing public outcry over Republican health care reform, and why Mitch McConnell drafted the Senate bill in secrecy.

On The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell Lawrence O’Donnell talks to Ezra Klein about the “catastrophic” CBO report – which estimates 22 million people would lose health care coverage – and GOP Representative David Jolly shares his personal story of what happened when he found himself unemployed and uninsured.

Senate Republican leaders are postponing a vote on their bill to repeal and replace Obamacare after a critical mass of senators said they would block the bill as written.  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had been pushing for a vote by the end of the week, and he could only lose 2 votes. But by Tuesday (June 27th) afternoon, at least five Republican senators said they would not support a procedural vote to start debate on the bill as currently written, enough to stop it.  “We’re going to continue the discussions within our conference on the differences that we have,” McConnell said at a press conference Tuesday (June 27th) afternoon. “We’re going to continue to try and litigate — consequently we will not be on the bill this week, but we’re still working toward getting at least 50 people in a comfortable place.”  A temporary reprieve but the people need to keep up the pressure.

On The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell Senator McConnell delayed a vote on the Senate GOP health care bill after 9 senators come out against it.  But Lawrence O’Donnell explains the real reason Senator McConnell pulled the bill: that the real number against the bill was probably higher – a lot higher.

On The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell Lawrence O’Donnell explains why the Senate Majority Leader took a big gamble on the repeal and replace bill—and whether the Resistance will succeed in stopping it.  Joy Reid and John Heilemann discuss.

On The Rachel Maddow Show Senator Cory Booker talks with Rachel Maddow about the public activism that contributed to the Republican failure to pass their health/tax plan and why it’s too soon for opponents of the Republican bill to celebrate.

On The Rachel Maddow Show Rachel Maddow looks at continued activism against Republican dismantling of health benefits even as Senate Republicans have failed in their first effort to bring a bill of their own.

On The Rachel Maddow Show Chris Hayes talks with Rachel Maddow about the key to the success or failure of the Republican health/tax bill: whether Republicans from Medicaid expansion states care about their constituents.

On All In with Chris Hayes Senator Bernie Sanders joins All In as Senate Republicans scramble to revise their health care bill, on the day the CBO says that bill will be even worse than previously thought.

June 30th 2017 Trump tweeted:  “If Republican Senators are unable to pass what they are working on now, they should immediately REPEAL, and then REPLACE at a later date!”  That move would probably leave 18 million more people without coverage in the first year after its enactment and 32 million more by 2026, according to a Congressional Budget Office report that looked at an earlier GOP bill to repeal Obamacare.  It would also cause premiums on individual market policies to increase by up to 25% the first year and to nearly double by 2026.  All this would happen mainly because the individual mandate — which requires nearly all Americans to get coverage or pay a penalty — would be repealed.  But some insurers would also likely pull out of the market, the CBO said.  The remaining carriers would likely raise rates dramatically because the remaining enrollees would tend to be older and sicker.

This is one reason why Republican lawmakers in both the House and the Senate moved away from a straight repeal of Obamacare without a replacement bill.  That left insurers, consumers and other Republican members in a tizzy.  Only 19% of Americans supported repealing Obamacare first and replacing later, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll released in March.  That hasn’t stopped some conservative GOP members from pushing for a full repeal.  Both Senators Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Rand Paul of Kentucky have recently broached the topic with Trump, likely leading to his tweet Friday (June 30th) morning.  While senators are expected to ignore Trump’s suggestion, it does inject more uncertainty into the future of Obamacare and the individual market.  And that’s the last thing insurers need.  Already, many are raising rates or even dropping out of the individual market completely for 2018.  Some 36 counties in Nevada, Ohio and Indiana are at risk of having no carrier on their exchanges next year, according to Kaiser.

On The Rachel Maddow Show Rachel Maddow reports on protests around the country and in the nation’s capital to pressure Republican senators to reject the proposed Republican health care/tax bill to replace Obamacare.

On The Rachel Maddow Show Rachel Maddow reports that Senate Republicans will try again to pass their Unpopular Obamacare-replacing health care/tax bill, even pushing into two weeks of their August vacation.

On The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell Lawrence O’Donnell weighs in on Trump’s sit-back-and-wait approach to passing major health care legislation.  And Ezra Klein explains why he thinks the newest GOP bill “is terrible for anyone who is sick, has been sick, or will be sick.”

On The Rachel Maddow Show Rachel Maddow reports on health care activists using a printed “flat Rob” to send a message to Ohio Senator Rob Portman.

On The Rachel Maddow Show Frank Thorp, NBC News Capitol Hill producer, talks with Rachel Maddow about Senators Mike Lee and Jerry Moran rejecting the Republican health bill, putting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell below the threshold he needs to pass the bill without working with Democrats.

On The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell Senators Mike Lee and Jerry Moran announce their opposition to the Republican health care plan, effectively killing the bill.  But this “zombie bill” has come back to life before—will it be resurrected?  Julie Rovner, David Frum and Ron Klain join Lawrence O’Donnell.

On The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell Supporters of Obamacare tirelessly attended town halls and made their voices heard—and Republican senators responded to the constituent pressure.  Trumpcare is dead – for now.  Neera Tanden and Indivisible’s Ezra Levin join Lawrence O’Donnell.

On The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell Planned Parenthood was key in building the resistance to GOP health care bill by organizing protests and helping get the bill’s opponents to town hall meetings.  Planned Parenthood’s Cecile Richards joins Lawrence O’Donnell in an exclusive interview.

On All In with Chris Hayes The president refuses to take responsibility for the failure of the Republican Obamacare repeal effort – despite playing a big role in that failure.

On All In with Chris Hayes Senator Bernie Sanders reacts to the Republican-led Senate’s failure to pass a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare.

On All In with Chris Hayes Thing 1/Thing 2: So far, every time President Donald Trump climbs into a truck in front of the cameras, a Republican health care bill dies.

On The 11th Hour with Brian Williams Calling for bipartisan action, Senate Democrat Amy Klobuchar joins MSNBC’s Brian Williams to react to the major collapse of the Republican Health Care bill on Capitol Hill.

On All In with Chris Hayes The president threatens and cajoles Republican senators as the CBO says the new, repeal-only plan will leave 32 million people uninsured and double premiums.

On The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell Lawrence O’Donnell translates what Mitch McConnell told President Donald Trump today after Trump invited all Republican senators to the White House to discuss the Senate’s floundering health care legislation.

On The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell Former congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) joins Lawrence O’Donnell to talk about Trumpcare, the importance of presidential leadership in passing legislation, and Trump’s public attack on Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

On All In with Chris Hayes Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans to open debate on a health care bill next week.  What exactly is in the bill is a little hard to say right now – even for the people casting the votes.

July 24th 2017 as reported in The Washington Post:  The Senate Republican drive to pass a sweeping rewrite of the nation’s health-care laws took another unexpected turn late Monday when the office of Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) announced he would return to Washington for a planned Tuesday vote.  McCain, who was recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer, could provide a critical vote to open debate on the GOP bill.  The senator had been recuperating from surgery and exploring treatment options in Arizona.

McCain’s announcement came as some Senate GOP leaders expressed confidence in a newly emerging strategy of trying to pass smaller-scale changes to the Affordable Care Act, with an eye toward continue negotiations into the fall.  While it was unclear if McCain’s return would improve the chances of the bill clearing a key procedural hurdle as he has expressed concerns about the proposal.  But some Republicans were privately abuzz with speculation that leaders might be close to securing the votes they needed to at least keep alive a months-long effort that all but died last week.

July 24th 2017 as reported in The New York Times:  Before Mr. McCain, an Arizona Republican, announced that he was jetting in to cast what is expected to be a vote in favor of starting debate, Trump spent Monday ratcheting up pressure on Republican senators to get onboard.  Mr. Trump criticized their inaction and warned that they risked betraying seven years’ worth of promises to raze and revamp the health law if they did not.  “Remember ‘repeal and replace,’ ‘repeal and replace’ — they kept saying it over and over again,” Mr. Trump said at the White House, flanked by people who he said suffered as “victims” of the “horrible disaster known as Obamacare.”  “Every Republican running for office promised immediate relief from this disastrous law,” the president said.  “But so far, Senate Republicans have not done their job in ending the Obamacare nightmare.”

Tom Perez, the Democratic National Committee chairman, countered, “No matter how many ways President Trump tries to twist or hide the truth, the facts won’t change: The Affordable Care Act has been a lifesaver for millions of Americans.”  The remarks from Mr. Trump, who has been largely absent from the policy debate, had the ring of a threat by a president who has grown frustrated watching Republicans repeatedly try, and fail, to reach consensus on his campaign promise to immediately roll back the health law and enact a better system.

Trump said their constituents would exact a price for inaction — “you’ll see that at the voter booth, believe me” — and hinted that any Republican who did not support the bid to open debate on an as-yet-determined health bill would be painted as complicit in preserving a health law passed on the basis of “a big, fat, ugly lie.”  “For Senate Republicans, this is their chance to keep their promise,” Mr. Trump said, repeating the “repeal and replace” mantra on which Republicans campaigned last fall.  “There’s been enough talk and no action; now is the time for action.”  After months of planning, debating and legislating, much of it behind closed doors, the Senate this week has reached the moment when votes will have to be cast.  The big question Monday was what exactly the Senate will be voting on.

On The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell Lawrence O’Donnell explains why Senator John McCain would violate the principles he laid out last week if he votes to proceed to debate on the GOP health care bill when he returns to the Senate on Tuesday.

On The Rachel Maddow Show Senator Ron Wyden talks with Rachel Maddow about the need for Americans to make their objections to the Republican repeal of Obamacare known, as Republicans prepare to vote on whatever bill Mitch McConnell presents to them.

On All In with Chris Hayes Mitch McConnell is scrambling to get something – anything – on the floor, but no one actually knows what’s in the bill they might be voting on.  Senator Chris Murphy joins Chris Hayes to discuss.

 

The Senate vote will allow debate to begin on repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act. 

How Senators Voted to Consider the Republican Health Care Bill »
Majority needed to pass    Yes   No
Republicans                          51     2
Democrats                             0       48
Total                                       51     50

Senators Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Dean Heller of Nevada and Rob Portman of Ohio, three Republicans who have expressed profound doubts about legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, announced Tuesday they will vote to begin debate on the future of health care.  See a full vote tally here, how each senator voted on motion to proceed with debate on the GOP health care bill Tuesday (July 25th 2017) afternoon.

 

How Senators Voted on Repeal and replace amendment »
Majority needed to pass    Yes   No
Republicans                          43     9
Democrats                             0       48
Total                                       43     57

See a full vote tally here, how each senator voted on the Better Care Reconciliation Act (TrumpCare) on Tuesday (July 25th 2017) night.

On The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell Lawrence O’Donnell argues Senator John McCain’s dramatic return to the Senate and his vote to move forward with the GOP health care bill isn’t a violation of his principles, but rather a signal about how he’ll vote on whichever bill Mitch McConnell brings to a vote.

On The 11th Hour with Brian Williams While blasting the process used to draft the GOP health care bill and calling for bipartisanship and civility on Capitol Hill, a returning John McCain also voted to move forward on the GOP plan.

 

How Senators Voted on Partial repeal amendment »
Majority needed to pass    Yes   No
Republicans                          45     7
Democrats                             0       48
Total                                       45     55

See a full vote tally here, how each senator voted on the Obamacare Repeal and Reconciliation Act on Wednesday (July 26th 2017).

Here’s how different versions of the bill would impact Americans.

On The 11th Hour with Brian Williams In what critics call another ‘stinging defeat’ on health care, Republicans failed to pass a bill repealing Obamacare without a measure to replace it.  Charlie Sykes & Kimberly Atkins discuss.

July 26th 2017 In another vote, the Senate decided on party lines, 52-48, to block a Democratic motion that would order legislators to return the bill to committee with instructions not to include any Medicaid cuts.  Spending reductions to Medicaid are a major piece of the House bill and various Senate replacement proposals.  Things are subject to change as Senate leaders in both parties work out a schedule.  But one thing you can count on is more debate:  There’s supposed to be 20 hours before a final vote.  Republicans can speed things up a bit by yielding their time.

When the debate is done, the Senate moves on to what is unofficially called the “Vote-a-Rama,” possibly as early as Thursday (July 27th 2017).  During this period, senators from both parties can offer an unlimited number of amendments which are voted on without debate.  This would be a chance for individual Republicans to present their own Obamacare replacement bills, which are unlikely to pass, as well as smaller policy proposals.  For example, Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has been pushing an amendment to block-grant health care funding to states.  Democrats could use this period to offer amendments that might provide fodder for future political attacks, like measures that would undo unpopular cuts.  Senator Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., has already submitted over 100 amendments, many of which would require that any bill not affect specific groups like Iraq veterans, pregnant women, and patients battling numerous individually listed forms of cancer.  But there are limits:  Their amendments have to be relevant to the bill and they can’t increase the deficit.  They also can’t use the process to filibuster a bill by speaking indefinitely.

As of Wednesday (July 26th 2017) night, Republicans had not announced what final legislation they planned to vote on.  The most prominent idea being floated right now is a “skinny repeal” bill that would eliminate Obamacare’s requirements that individuals buy insurance and employers provide it, along with the law’s medical-device tax.  The bill would be compiled through amendments in the “Vote-a-Rama,” possibly in a substitute amendment at the end that’s backed by Senate leaders.  If the House passes the same skinny repeal bill as the Senate, it goes to the president’s desk, and it becomes law.  This could cause serious disruption in insurance markets and some Republicans sound wary about the idea.

Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn freely admits it: the whole strategy guiding the Senate this week is passing any damned thing they can so that they can take it to the House in conference, then cook up whatever they feel like—with a minimum of input from anyone outside of that room.

Oh, okay, says the rank-and file, or in his case just Tennessee Republican Senator Bob Corker.  The “content” of it doesn’t matter, because it is the “forcing mechanism” for conference with House.  There’s Corker happily ceding any say in this at all to Republican Senator Mitch McConnell and the House maniacs.  He’s not alone.  Nevada Senator Dean Heller says “I look on it … favorably.  It’s good for the state of Nevada.”  Heller appears to be operating under the assumption—or trying to make his constituents believe—that it means there won’t be any Medicaid cuts if this passes.  Either he’s truly an idiot or he thinks his constituents are, because those Medicaid cuts aren’t going away.  What’s going to happen is that the conference committee will put them back in and McConnell will beat on Heller until he gives in and votes for the final bill.  That’s certainly what McConnell has in mind.  Heller should know better by now.

On All In with Chris Hayes The CBO reports the so-called ‘Skinny Repeal’ of Obamacare would leave 16 million more Americans uninsured by 2026 and increase premiums by 20% more on average.

On The 11th Hour with Brian Williams As the Senate readies for a late night vote to try to pass a so-called ‘skinny repeal’ of Obamacare, former members of Congress David Jolly (R-FL) & Donna Edwards (D-MD) join to discuss.

On All In with Chris Hayes Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, who was recently diagnosed with stage four kidney cancer, shares her perspective on the fight over health care reform.

On All In with Chris Hayes After Alaska’s Senator Lisa Murkowski voted against a motion to begin debating the Republican health care bill, members of the Trump administration responded with threats against residents of her state.

On The Rachel Maddow Show Rachel Maddow points out the parallels between the bully tactics at the root of the Bridgegate scandal and the pressure Donald Trump is trying to put on Senator Lisa Murkowski by threatening Alaska, noting also that Chris Christie’s former campaign manager now works as Trump’s political director.

On The Rachel Maddow Show Senator Al Franken talks with Rachel Maddow about the disastrous health/tax bill Senate Republicans are struggling to jam through to passage.

On All In with Chris Hayes The Republican Party is dominated by the far right wing ‘Koch brothers ideology,’ says Senator Bernie Sanders, and they want to eliminate ‘every federal program passed in the last eighty years.’

 

But just hours away from a vote, it was still unclear whether Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had garnered the 50 “yes” votes needed to pass it.  The most notable holdout was McCain, who had made a dramatic return to Washington after brain cancer surgery this week in part to cast this vote.  McCain and several of his colleagues had thrown the Republican negotiations into turmoil earlier in the day, when they threatened to scuttle the bill unless they were offered guarantees that the House would enter negotiations after the Senate passed the bill.

The drama — Republican senators imploring their own colleagues across the Capitol to vow that they would not pass the bill they are about to pass — crystalized the remarkable dissatisfaction and deep reservations that Republican members feel about weakening Obamacare and threatened the prospect of providing a long-awaited legislative victory to the party and Donald Trump.  “Go Republican Senators, Go!  Get there after waiting for 7 years.  Give America great healthcare!”  Trump tweeted late Thursday.

After a phone call with House Speaker Paul Ryan, GOP Senators Lindsey Graham and Ron Johnson said they had received the reassurances they needed and would vote yes.  But McCain was uncharacteristically silent as he left the Senate chamber.  “I think John is rightfully upset with the process and whatever he does, he’s earned the right to do it,” Graham told reporters.  Earlier in the evening, Graham and his colleagues had savaged the “skinny repeal” bill.  “I’m not going to vote for a bill that is terrible policy and politics just to get something done,” Graham said at a press conference.  Joined by McCain, Johnson and Bill Cassidy, Graham said he has grown increasingly concerned that contrary to GOP leaders’ assurances, the bill that the Senate passes would be immediately taken up by the House — rather than going to a House-Senate conference for further negotiations — and end up on Trump’s desk.  “We have to have an assurance that it will go to a normal conference — right now that is not the case.”

Shortly after that press conference, Ryan responded that the House would be willing to go to a conference committee but his carefully crafted statement did not include a specific guarantee that the House would not vote on the Senate’s proposal.  It appeared aimed at moving the process forward while protecting House Republicans from being blamed if the entire process collapses.  “The burden remains on the Senate to demonstrate that it is capable of passing something that keeps our promise, as the House has already done,” Ryan said.  “Until the Senate can do that, we will never be able to develop a conference report that becomes law.”

How Senators Voted On “Skinny” repeal amendment »
Majority needed to pass    Yes   No
Republicans                          49     3
Democrats                             0       48
Total                                       49     51

See a full vote tally here, how each senator voted on the Health Care Freedom Act on Friday (July 28th 2017).

The Senate rejected a third Republican proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act early Friday morning.  The “skinny” repeal amendment, called the Health Care Freedom Act, would have repealed the mandates that most individuals have health insurance and that large employers cover their employees, among other provisions.

On All In with Chris Hayes The gasps on the floor, the staredown, the reactions – Chris Hayes breaks down the dramatic scenes from the vote that killed the Republican health care bill.

On All In with Chris Hayes Lawrence O’Donnell joins Chris Hayes to recap the stunning week that was in Washington.

On The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell John McCain made the deciding vote on the GOP’s health care bill and Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski were “unwavering in their opposition.”  But protesters around the country had the courage to do more than their jobs in fighting to save healthcare for 23 million.

This appears to end repeal and replace and/or repeal only and/or skinny repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare), for now.  They said they are moving on to something else.  But keep an eye on them and do not put it past them to bring this back to life at some point later.

On The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell Democrats and Republicans took a step forward towards new health care legislation with a new bipartisan effort.  Senator Chris Murphy joins Lawrence O’Donnell to discuss the Senate Health committee’s plan, as well as what lies ahead for possible Russian sanctions.

On The Rachel Maddow Show Joy-Ann Reid shares video of angry constituents confronting members of Congress, who are home now on a month-long vacation, over their vote for the wildly unpopular Republican health care bill.

 

 

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DemV

Just a Democrat with an opinion and enough insight to share my 2 cents.