A healthcare
bill being unveiled by U.S. Senate Republicans on Thursday is expected to roll
back the Obamacare expansion of the Medicaid healthcare program for the poor
and reshape subsidies to low-income people buying private insurance.
Those
subsidies are expected to be linked to recipients' income, a "major
improvement" from a healthcare overhaul bill passed in the House of
Representatives that tied them solely to age, Republican Senator Susan Collins
said on Wednesday.
The Washington
Post reported that the bill would also repeal most of the taxes that pay for
the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, give states wider
latitude to opt out of its regulations and eliminate federal funding for
Planned Parenthood, a healthcare provider that offers abortion services.
The
healthcare bill will be released to the Republican Senate Conference on
Thursday morning and posted online, senators said. A vote could come as soon as
next week, several senators said.
Senate
Republicans have been working behind closed doors for weeks on legislation
aimed at repealing and replacing major portions of Obamacare, former Democratic
President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law.
Obamacare
extended insurance coverage to millions of Americans through both subsidized
private insurance and an expansion of Medicaid.
"There
is an urgency to get this done because of the continued collapse of the Obama
healthcare law," Senator John Barrasso, a member of the Senate Republican
leadership, told CNN. "People across the country are suffering pain and
the pain is getting worse as insurance companies are pulling out."
Democrats
accuse Republicans of sabotaging Obamacare, and say the Republican healthcare
bill is aimed at cutting taxes for the wealthy.
Democratic
Senator Patty Murray of Washington said in a statement that leaked details of
the bill indicated it was "every bit as devastating for families’ bank
accounts and healthcare coverage as the disastrous bill that passed in the
House."
President
Donald Trump and fellow Republicans campaigned last year on a pledge to replace
and repeal Obamacare, which they described as ineffective and government
intrusion in a key sector of the economy.
REPUBLICAN
CONCERN
Some
Republican senators voiced concern on Wednesday about the rush to consider the
major legislation as their party's leaders prepare to unveil it.
Republican
Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said he wanted to read the bill and discuss it
with constituents before he votes. "I'd find it hard to believe we'll have
enough time," he said, adding that if he did not get enough information,
"I won't be voting yes."
Democrats
hoping to block the healthcare measure in the Republican-led Senate need at
least two Republicans to defect. The Democrats have criticized the
behind-the-scenes meetings, and blocked Senate committees on Wednesday from
meeting for over two hours in protest.
Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, defending the closed-door sessions, has said
all Senate Republicans have had a chance to participate in meetings on the
bill, and that Democrats are not interested in overhauling Obamacare.
Once the
plan is unveiled, Senate Republicans will face a skeptical public that thinks
the House version would be harmful for low-income Americans and people with
pre-existing health conditions, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on
Wednesday.
Trump told a
rally in Iowa on Wednesday night that he hoped the Senate would come up with a
"really good" bill. "I’ve been talking about a plan with
heart," Trump said. He had privately called the House legislation
"mean," according to congressional sources.
PARTY
TENSIONS
Several
weeks of negotiations over the bill have been plagued by tensions between
moderates and conservatives. Much of the battle has been over how quickly to
phase out the Medicaid expansion that took place under Obamacare. Moderates
favored a seven-year phase-out, but the Senate leadership proposed three years
starting in 2020.
There was
also an argument over Medicaid's growth rate going forward, with conservatives
favoring lowering the growth rate in 2025. "That's what we're told it
might be," said Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.
Cassidy said
senators had also been told the legislation would continue funding cost-sharing
subsidies made available to help low-income Americans under Obamacare "for
a couple of years."
Collins, a
moderate Republican from Maine, said she wanted to read an assessment by the
nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office on its impact on cost and insurance
coverage before making her decision.
"The
first concern is how many people will lose coverage and what do the
demographics of that group look like," she said.
An estimated
23 million people could lose their healthcare under a similar plan narrowly
passed last month by the Republican-controlled House, according to the CBO.
REUTERS*
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