GOP/HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA)PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS: “Opponents of a Republican plan to dismantle most of the Affordable Care Act are scrambling to ramp up a resistance campaign before a possible Senate vote next week on a bill many never expected would gain traction.
With such a narrow window, consumer and other groups are seeking to pressure specific GOP senators they see as most likely to waver. They also assert that Republicans are trying to ram through a bill outside the normal process while reneging on a promise to preserve the ACA’s consumer protections, claims the bill’s sponsors reject.
Timing is clearly a challenge for the bill’s supporters, who must cobble together votes by a Sept. 30 deadline, when a parliamentary vehicle that enables the Senate to pass legislation with a simple majority expires. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) has said he plans to hold a vote next week, by Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.
But it also doesn’t leave much time for the bill’s opponents, who had weeks to build up resistance to previous ACA-repeal attempts, including legislation that failed in July to pass the Senate…
Republican leaders have begun responding to the attacks on their bill to topple much of the ACA. They say it protects people with pre-existing conditions and returns control over health care to the states. They disagree with critics who say they have been secretive with the bill’s process, pointing out that they’re holding public hearings early next week on the legislation.”
-Stephanie Armour, “With Timing Tight for GOP’s Health-Law Repeal Effort, Opponents Rush to Mobilize,” The Wall Street Journal online, Sept. 21, 2017 05:30am