Five takeaways from the GOP's healthcare reboot
Senate Republican leaders are pushing ahead with their plan to vote next week on an ObamaCare repeal bill after releasing a revised version of the legislation Thursday to mixed reaction.
For three weeks, leadership has been pulling concerned members into their offices to discuss changes to the legislation. The tweaks released Thursday were aimed at shoring up support within a Republican conference that has been deeply divided over what to do.
Just a few hours after the new bill was released, two senators said they wouldn’t vote for a motion to let the Senate debate the Republican healthcare bill; that means Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) can only afford to lose one more vote.
Other moderates held their fire on the bill, giving McConnell a chance to win them over in the coming days. And in a big win for GOP leadership, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said he would vote for a motion to proceed to the bill, likely neutralizing conservative opposition.
Here are five takeaways from the big unveiling.
It includes a provision key to earning conservative support
An amendment pushed for weeks by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) could go a long way toward gaining conservative support for the legislation.
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Medicaid cuts are largely kept in place.
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The bill includes more money to combat the opioid crisis.
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The bill includes more money to combat the opioid crisis.
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Much of ObamaCare would remain.
The bill probably can’t escape the “ObamaCare lite” moniker.
It keeps the structure of ObamaCare’s tax credits to help lower income Americans afford insurance in place, though they would be less generous. A tax on high earners would remain. In short, it’s not a straight repeal of the law.
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/341964-five-takeaways-from-the-gops-healthcare-reboot
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