Democrats Get Their First Health Care Win By Defeating The Cruz Amendment

Democrats scored their first win of the Senate health care battle by denying the Republican version of Obamacare repeal and replace the 60 votes that it needed for passage.

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The Cruz bill failed as nine Republicans voted no. Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Susan Collins (R-ME), Mike Lee (R-UT), Rand Paul (R-KY), Bob Corker (R-TN), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Dean Heller (R-NV), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voted no with the Democrats. The Cruz plan didn’t get the required 60 votes and was DOA.

The Cruz amendment had been blasted by health insurers as, “simply unworkable in any form and would undermine protections for those with pre-existing medical conditions, increase premiums and lead to widespread terminations of coverage for people currently enrolled in the individual market.”

To the surprise of no one, the least popular man in the Senate offered a terrible idea that was immediately shot down by Democrats. The vote tonight was the first of three scheduled votes on health care between 9:25 PM ET on Tuesday and 2:15 PM Wednesday.

Republicans are voting on everything and hoping that something sticks. The real threat remains the “skinny” Obamacare repeal bill that would double premiums and throw 15 million Americans off of their health care.

Democrats scored one win but keeping calling your Senators because the fight has just begun.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association