Affordable Care Act Repeal Dealt another Blow

August 1, 2017

Adffordable Care Act Repeal Dealt another Blow

In a dramatic vote in the early morning hours on Friday, July 28, the Senate dealt a huge setback to Republican efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare (The Affordable Care Act).  Following the failure of repeal and replace and repeal-only, this latest attempt was known as “skinny repeal” – a skeletal plan to be used as a vehicle to kick-start negotiations with the House.

When a final vote was called just before 2 a.m. ET, three Republicans sided with Democrats to oppose the measure.  Sens. John McCain (R-AZ), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) explained that the bill “fell short of our promise to repeal and replace Obamacare with meaningful reform” leaving the final count at 49-51.

What’s Next?
For the foreseeable future, the repeal of Obamacare appears to be dead in the water.  Immediately following the vote, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell appeared stunned and pronounced, “This is clearly a disappointing moment…it’s time to move on.”

John McCain, who returned to Washington D.C. to vote following surgery for a brain tumor, urged the Senate to go back to work saying, “We must now return to the correct way of legislating and send the bill back to committee, hold hearings and receive input from both sides of the aisle.”

In typical fashion, President Trump voiced his criticism in an early morning tweet, writing “3 Republicans and 48 Democrats let the American people down.  As I said from the beginning, let Obamacare implode, then deal.  Watch!”

While the debate may be over for now, Herbein + Company will continue to monitor the situation and keep you updated as developments occur.