Senate Republicans Work To Gather Votes To Pass Health Care Bill

Sandoval said he would do “everything in my power” to make sure those people can maintain the quality of life they now have.

Nevada Republican Dean Heller didn’t mince words about the GOP’s new health care bill in the Senate: “It’s going to be very hard to get me to a yes”.

None of the Senate’s 48 Democrats are expected to support the package, meaning the legislation survives only if no more than two Republicans vote no. “If Republicans pass this bill, they’re the death party”. He added that Nevada “is one of the most improved states in the country” in expanding coverage.

“No argument against Trumpcare is more eloquent than the grave consequences it means in people’s lives”, she wrote colleagues.

And in a separate statement, Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown says the GOP Senate bill would hamper the state’s progress in slowing the opioid epidemic, calling Medicaid the “number one tool” in the fight against opioids.

Instead, the bill entices people to voluntarily buy a policy by offering them tax credits based on age and income to help pay premiums.

Cantwell is hoping to organize opposition to the bill. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Mike Lee (Utah), Ted Cruz (Texas) and Ron Johnson (Wis.) released a statement Thursday afternoon announcing they don’t support the legislation, though they are open to negotiation.

The other four Senators said the bill doesn’t do enough to repeal Obamacare and lower health care costs. As five conservatives are now against the bill.

Many supporters-like Pennsylvania’s Republican US Senator Pat Toomey-say they don’t think that will necessarily change Medicaid coverage drastically.

But while it’s true that health care costs are rising, there’s little evidence that Senate Republicans’ bill, which was negotiated in secret for weeks and could see a vote as early as Thursday, would do anything to stop that rise.

Sen. Susan Collins of ME reiterated her opposition to language blocking federal money for Planned Parenthood, which many Republicans oppose because it provides abortions.

The bill also scales back federal funding for Medicaid – which is more than half the spending for the program at the state level.

But Mr. Heller did not rule out ultimately voting for a version of the bill.