With all other options coming up short so far, another version of the GOP’s Obamacare repeal legislation –the so-called “skinny” repeal – gained momentum among key Republican senators on Wednesday.
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According to The Hill, some GOP senators, including Sen. John Cornyn, the number two Republican in the Senate, see it as the easiest way to get something done on health care.
More from the report:
Momentum for a “skinny” ObamaCare repeal bill is growing in the Senate as one by one other measures to reform the nation’s healthcare law fall by the wayside.
Legislation to repeal ObamaCare with a two-year delay only secured 45 votes on Wednesday, a day after a repeal-and- replace bill won just 43 votes in a procedural motion.
Those tallies suggest Senate Republicans may have to narrow their goals to win 51 votes for legislation in the face of unified Democratic opposition.
Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), the No. 2 Senate Republican, told reporters Wednesday that a scaled-down bill might be the best way to move forward on the issue, possibly by holding a conference committee with the House, which approved a broader repeal-and-replace bill.
It “seems to have a lot of benefits, getting us to conference,” Cornyn said.
It’s even possible that Senate passage of a skinny bill could lead to quick action in the House, which is scheduled to begin its recess at the end of the week.
Despite what Cornyn, his Republican allies in Congress, and the President of the United States say, there are no “benefits” to passing any of their bills to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
The “skinny” repeal that is gaining steam now may have a cute name, but it would – as would all of the other plans put forward by the GOP – cause a humanitarian crisis, leaving millions of Americans without the care they need and driving up costs for everybody else.
According to the CBO, the “skinny” repeal bill would kick 16 million off health insurance and cause premiums to jump by a whopping 20 percent.
One by one, Republicans are watching their plans to kill Obamacare go up in flames. This legislation should join the growing pile of ashes.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
