It’s official: Senate Republicans are desperately trying to round up enough votes to pass a last-ditch piece of legislation that would repeal the Affordable Care Act and kick millions of Americans off their health insurance.
According to The Hill, Sen. John Cornyn is gauging support for a Trump-supported measure put forward by GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy.
The report notes that the legislation would “end funding for ObamaCare’s insurance subsidies that help people afford coverage and the money for Medicaid expansion.”
If the bill doesn’t pass or come up for a vote by the end of the September, the number of votes needed to pass any future legislation will shoot up to 60, instead of the simple majority Republicans now need using “special budget rules.”
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As Jason Easley wrote yesterday, citing this tweet from Andy Slavitt, the newest version of Trumpcare would result in millions of Americans losing health insurance and a huge spike in premiums, among other things.
JUST OUT: Here’s a summary of the Graham-Cassidy repeal. Yes, it’s that bad.
Spread far and wide if useful. pic.twitter.com/Z0bbj0qaPd
— Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) September 13, 2017
As The Hill also noted on Thursday, “Republicans are currently waiting to get a score back from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO),” but it would likely fall into the same range as previous CBO scores showing that at least 20 million Americans would lose health care coverage under GOP plans.
With the end of September marching closer and 2018 around the bend, Republicans are still unlikely to pass any bill to repeal and replace a law that has saved lives – a promise they have been making for the better part of a decade.
In other words, the Affordable Care Act is here to stay.
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.
