Senate healthcare bill expected to cut
back Medicaid expansion
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[June 22, 2017]
By Susan Cornwell
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A healthcare bill
being unveiled by U.S. Senate Republicans on Thursday is expected to
roll back the Obamacare expansion of the Medicaid healthcare program for
the poor and reshape subsidies to low-income people buying private
insurance.
Those subsidies are expected to be linked to recipients' income, a
"major improvement" from a healthcare overhaul bill passed in the House
of Representatives that tied them solely to age, Republican Senator
Susan Collins said on Wednesday.
The Washington Post reported that the bill would also repeal most of the
taxes that pay for the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as
Obamacare, give states wider latitude to opt out of its regulations and
eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood, a healthcare provider
that offers abortion services.
The healthcare bill will be released to the Republican Senate Conference
on Thursday morning and posted online, senators said. A vote could come
as soon as next week, several senators said.
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Senate Republicans have been working behind closed doors for weeks on
legislation aimed at repealing and replacing major portions of
Obamacare, former Democratic President Barack Obama's signature
healthcare law.
Obamacare extended insurance coverage to millions of Americans through
both subsidized private insurance and an expansion of Medicaid.
"There is an urgency to get this done because of the continued collapse
of the Obama healthcare law," Senator John Barrasso, a member of the
Senate Republican leadership, told CNN. "People across the country are
suffering pain and the pain is getting worse as insurance companies are
pulling out."
Democrats accuse Republicans of sabotaging Obamacare, and say the
Republican healthcare bill is aimed at cutting taxes for the wealthy.
Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington said in a statement that
leaked details of the bill indicated it was "every bit as devastating
for families’ bank accounts and healthcare coverage as the disastrous
bill that passed in the House."
President Donald Trump and fellow Republicans campaigned last year on a
pledge to replace and repeal Obamacare, which they described as
ineffective and government intrusion in a key sector of the economy.
REPUBLICAN CONCERN
Some Republican senators voiced concern on Wednesday about the rush to
consider the major legislation as their party's leaders prepare to
unveil it.
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Republican Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said he wanted to read the
bill and discuss it with constituents before he votes. "I'd find it hard
to believe we'll have enough time," he said, adding that if he did not
get enough information, "I won't be voting yes."
Democrats hoping to block the healthcare measure in the Republican-led
Senate need at least two Republicans to defect. The Democrats have
criticized the behind-the-scenes meetings, and blocked Senate committees
on Wednesday from meeting for over two hours in protest.
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![](../images/062217pics/news_o24.jpg)
Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price attends a listening
session on Healthcare reform at the White House in Washington, U.S.,
June 20, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, defending the closed-door
sessions, has said all Senate Republicans have had a chance to
participate in meetings on the bill, and that Democrats are not
interested in overhauling Obamacare.
Once the plan is unveiled, Senate Republicans will face a skeptical
public that thinks the House version would be harmful for low-income
Americans and people with pre-existing health conditions, according
to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday.
Trump told a rally in Iowa on Wednesday night that he hoped the
Senate would come up with a "really good" bill. "I’ve been talking
about a plan with heart," Trump said. He had privately called the
House legislation "mean," according to congressional sources.
PARTY TENSIONS
Several weeks of negotiations over the bill have been plagued by
tensions between moderates and conservatives. Much of the battle has
been over how quickly to phase out the Medicaid expansion that took
place under Obamacare. Moderates favored a seven-year phase-out, but
the Senate leadership proposed three years starting in 2020.
There was also an argument over Medicaid's growth rate going
forward, with conservatives favoring lowering the growth rate in
2025. "That's what we're told it might be," said Republican Senator
Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.
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Cassidy said senators had also been told the legislation would
continue funding cost-sharing subsidies made available to help
low-income Americans under Obamacare "for a couple of years."
Collins, a moderate Republican from Maine, said she wanted to read
an assessment by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office on its
impact on cost and insurance coverage before making her decision.
"The first concern is how many people will lose coverage and what do
the demographics of that group look like," she said.
An estimated 23 million people could lose their healthcare under a
similar plan narrowly passed last month by the Republican-controlled
House, according to the CBO.
(Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu and Richard Cowan in
Washington and Steve Holland in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Editing by
Jeffrey Benkoe and Peter Cooney)
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