The closely guarded Senate health care bill written entirely behind closed doors finally became public Thursday in a do-or-die moment for the Republican Party's winding efforts to repeal Obamacare, CNN's MJ Lee, Tami Luhby, Lauren Fox and Phil Mattingly report.
The unveiling of the 142-page bill marks the first time the majority of senators got a look at the plan to overhaul America's health care system. With Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pressing for a vote next week, senators now only have a handful of days to decide whether to support or vote against the bill.
But Republicans don't have the votes. In fact, they're at least two votes down after Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah said in a joint statement they're "not ready to vote for this bill." The statement is full of caveats, though, implying the four could get to "yes." They said: "Currently, for a variety of reasons, we are not ready to vote for this bill, but we are open to negotiation and obtaining more information before it is brought to the floor."
What the bill does, in short: It would repeal Obamacare's individual mandate, drastically cut back federal support of Medicaid, and eliminate Obamacare's taxes on the wealthy, insurers and others. With the exception of some key changes -- notably keeping Obamacare's subsidies to help people pay for individual coverage -- the bill is similar to the version of the measure the House passed last month, which President Donald Trump has since called "mean," despite having a Rose Garden celebration with House Republicans. | |
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