Within hours of Trump’s proposed American Health Care Act bill passing through House vote with only four votes despite a large Republican majority, rumors circulated that it would more than likely die on the Senate floor. That claim is further fortified with new talks that Republican Senate is already drafting its own version of a replacement plan to accompany the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. This also means that the AHCA will not be happening; rather a brand new bill will arrive in its place.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky expressed last week that Senate would await a score from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in order to determine the fate of the AHCA. This is contrast to the passage of the amended AHCA in the House, which chose to pass the bill despite the absence of a CBO score on that amended AHCA. While the CBO hopes to deliver that score by the week of May 22, Senate has moved ahead with its process for drafting a new bill.
Republican Senator Susan Collins echoed that sentiment. “The Senate is starting from scratch; we’re going to draft our own bill,” she said in a recent interview. Collins added that there were several concerns about Trumpcare, including the complete elimination of ACA-related taxes. Collins sees utility in taking into consideration the geographical locations of those receiving subsidies and the income levels attached to those location, especially when it comes to “pay-fors” i.e., taxes to pay for more government spending.
Republican Senate Finance Committee Chair Orrin G. Hatch of Utah has now expressed that the ACA-related taxes would be “negotiated,” despite previously being one of the loudest voices previously in favor of eliminating all of those taxes.
The Democrats in the Senate are still fighting in favor of keeping the ACA and fixing the parts that need work, making it a more bipartisan effort. Considering the AHCA does not fall in the Republican Senate’s favor, Senate Democrats feel more confident about urging their belief that the ACA should not be repealed. Senate Democrats all signed a letter addressed to both McConnell and Hatch, expressing once again that the ACA should not be repealed. More light may be shed once the CBO provides its score of the AHCA. But until then, the waiting game continues.