GOP/HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA): “A Republican push to pass a sweeping health-care law experienced another setback as Senate leaders said they would delay a vote set for this week, sparking fresh doubts about whether congressional leaders can muster support for a marquee GOP policy priority.
President Donald Trump and party leaders in Congress were hoping the Senate would vote this week on a plan to overturn parts of the 2010 Affordable Care Act and make other changes to the health system. But Senate leaders announced a delay after Sen. John McCain said he would recover in Arizona from surgery removing a blood clot above his left eye, leaving supporters short of the votes needed to move ahead with the bill.
The delay prolongs the uncertainty over the bill’s prospects. GOP leaders have pursued a fast-paced timeline, as health-policy changes are often controversial. Sen. John Cornyn, a member of Senate GOP leadership, told reporters last month that passing the bill is ‘not going to get any easier’ with time. Another GOP senator, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said the bill ‘is not like fine wine; it doesn’t get better with age.’
Meantime, insurance companies, state governors and congressional critics continued to line up against the bill, with their objections running the ideological gamut. Governors, including some Republicans, have said they are concerned about its proposed cuts to the growth of Medicaid spending, while two top insurance industry groups objected to a change to the GOP bill proposed by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas as ‘unworkable.’ “
-Byron Tau, Louise Radnofsky, and Kristina Peterson, “GOP Push to Pass Health-Care Law Faces New Setback,” The Wall Street Journal online, July 16, 2017 07:05pm