On Monday night, Republican Senators Mike Lee of Utah and Jerry Moran of Kansas joined Susan Collins and Rand Paul in pulling their support of the GOP’s healthcare plan, effectively killing the legislation which is now considered “dead as written.” According to the New York Times, the two Senators coordinated their Monday night announcement for “maximum impact” and so no one would be left as the definitive “no” vote on Trumpcare.
Senator Lee released a statement saying the new bill didn’t go far enough to fulfill the promise of repealing and replacing Obamacare with something better:
“After conferring with trusted experts regarding the latest version of the Consumer Freedom Amendment, I have decided I cannot support the current version of the Better Care Reconciliation Act,” Sen. Lee said. “In addition to not repealing all of the Obamacare taxes, it doesn’t go far enough in lowering premiums for middle class families; nor does it create enough free space from the most costly Obamacare regulations.”
While Moran made his point clear for conservative reasons, not wanting to “devolve” into single-payer system:
My full statement opposing this version of BCRA: pic.twitter.com/CUq4Kibe0I
— Senator Jerry Moran (@JerryMoran) July 18, 2017
This comes just days after Senator John McCain’s surgery which delayed the procedural vote on Trumpcare, and with another CBO score looming. And even with the four definitive “no” votes, at least a half-dozen other GOP lawmakers have reportedly been on the fence regarding Trumpcare.
This leaves Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell with the task of either rewriting the bill again or reaching across the aisle to work towards making positive changes to the existing legislation or jointly creating something better.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has called for Republican Senators to work towards a better solution, saying: “Rather than repeating the same failed, partisan process yet again, Republicans should start from scratch and work with Democrats on a bill that lowers premiums, provides long term stability to the markets and improves our health care system.”