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 Republicans in the chamber have been working for weeks behind closed
doors on legislation aimed at repealing and replacing major portions
of the Affordable Care Act, former Democratic President Barack
Obama's signature healthcare law, popularly known as Obamacare.
The effort has been plagued from the start by tensions between
moderates and conservatives, which surfaced again on Tuesday.
Democrats have also criticized the behind-the-scenes meetings,
staging a protest on the Senate floor on Monday.
"Republicans are writing their healthcare bill under the cover of
darkness because they are ashamed of it," Senate Democratic leader
Chuck Schumer charged.
President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to repeal Obamacare.
The 2010 law extended insurance coverage to millions of Americans
through both subsidized private insurance and an expansion of
Medicaid.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives narrowly approved
its version of repeal last month.
Trump has urged the Republican-led Senate to pass a more "generous"
bill than that approved by the House, whose version he privately
called "mean," according to congressional sources.
An estimated 23 million people could lose their healthcare under the
House plan, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget
Office. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday the
Senate healthcare bill would be different from the House version,
but he did not elaborate.
In the Senate, moderates including Senator Shelley Moore Capito have
argued for a long, seven-year phase-out to the Medicaid expansion
that happened under Obamacare. But Senator John Thune, a member of
the Republican leadership, said on Tuesday the phase-out in the bill
might just be three years.
Capito said on Tuesday she was also concerned the Senate healthcare
plan might cap Medicaid spending and shift it to a lower growth rate
in 2025. "That's an issue," she said.
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CONSERVATIVES WARY
Senate conservatives also seemed wary of the emerging bill. Ted
Cruz, a member of a core group of 13 Republicans who have been
working on the legislation, told reporters the bill did not yet do
enough to lower health insurance premiums. "If it is going to pass,
the bill is going to have to make meaningful steps to reduce
premiums," he said.
Given the opposition of all Senate Democrats to repealing Obamacare,
Republican leaders will need the support of at least 50 of the
chamber's 52 Republicans to ensure passage.
McConnell announced a discussion draft would be laid out on
Thursday. The bill will be brought to the Senate floor once the CBO
has assessed its cost and impact, "likely next week," McConnell
said.
Thune said the bill was not yet finalized, saying: "We're trying to
get definitive determinations" on a range of issues.
Vice President Mike Pence predicted that new healthcare legislation
would be enacted this summer.
"I want to assure you, before this summer is over ... President
Donald Trump and this Congress will keep their promise to the
American people, and we will repeal and replace Obamacare," Pence
told a meeting of the National Association of Manufacturers.
(Editing by Caren Bohan and Peter Cooney)
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