With two more Republican Senators announcing that they will not support taking up the bill that is to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the New York Times is, in this writer’s opinion, sticking its neck out with the following (e-mailed) headline:
The health bill has collapsed with two more G.O.P. senators opposed. For now, President Trump’s effort to replace Obamacare is over.
The two Senators are Jerry Moran (Kan.) and Mike Lee (Utah).
The announcement by the senators, both Republicans, left their leaders two votes short of the necessary tally to begin debate on their bill to dismantle the health law. Two other Republican senators, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Susan Collins of Maine, had already said they would not support a procedural step to begin debate.
“There are serious problems with Obamacare, and my goal remains what it has been for a long time: to repeal and replace it,” Mr. Moran said in a statement. “This closed-door process unfortunately has yielded” the Senate repeal bill, which, he asserted, “failed to repeal the Affordable Care Act or address health care’s rising costs.”
The Times reports that Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer is urging his Republican colleagues to begin anew and, this time, undertake a bipartisan effort:.
“This second failure of Trumpcare is proof positive that the core of this bill is unworkable,” Mr. Schumer said. “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.”
If Trumpcare is in fact dead – having seen the seven-year foolhardy GOP effort to destroy the ACA, I would not bet on that – it sounds like a pretty good alternative: Working together improve the present heath care system.
But, I forget, this is politics.
