For a second time, the GOP was yet again unable to overhaul Obamacare as the Graham-Cassidy Bill to reform health care failed to pass through the Senate.
According to The Chicago Tribune the bill died before even going to a vote. Republican holdouts John McCain, Susan Collins, Rand Paul, and Ted Cruz, along with an uncertain Lisa Murkowski, who ultimately would not have voted to pass the bill, held a large responsibility for the bill’s failure. Republicans were unwilling to commit, for reasons ranging from the bill’s hastiness to its overall structure, while the Democratic Party remained united. Republican majority leader Mitch McConnell informed the press that healthcare will be tabled for a later date and tax reform is the new focus of the GOP.
Republican senators Lindsey Graham, Bill Cassidy, Dean Heller, Ron Johnson, and former senator Rick Santorum worked together to draft the bill. According to Senator Cassidy’s press release, the bill would repeal Obamacare and replace it with block grants given to each state. Its intention was to give more freedom to states in determining their health care systems and to waive certain restrictions on corporations. The bill would also have given health insurance companies more freedom to raise premiums and deny coverage, mainly due to states’ through increased health care rights earned by states as well as block grants with equal amounts that, according to the senators, would be more equitable.
The bill battled a wide-ranging host of civilian protests as well, with consumer groups, doctors, hospitals, and insurance executives in frequent and vocal opposition. Some of the most frequently voiced concerns about the bill centered around its ability to eliminate protections for those with pre-existing conditions. Supporters, however, repeatedly emphasized the $1 trillion in savings, which they claimed would be a boost to the nation’s economy. From the beginning, the bill struggled as the GOP attempted to rush a vote in hopes of avoiding a filibuster from the Democrats. With the bill’s failure and more Republican leaders refusing to vote on party lines, the pressure for a good, bipartisan solution is mounting.
The New York Times’ reports that the GOP may have lost again, but they have not given up. Healthcare will be front and center of discussion starting in the new year and frustrations are rising due to campaign promises for Obamacare’s repeal. Representatives have decided to stop repealing and start looking at a third option that would have a higher chance of gaining bipartisan support, something that has seemed foreign to the United States government as of late. With some Republican lawmakers starting to vote on principle instead of party and with mid term elections looming, there is hope for future agreement.