Free Republic

Full title: "Graham-Cassidy is dead. Stop treating Obamacare like the enemy and help get Americans health coverage" We may never know how many Republicans in the U.S. Senate would have voted against the latest ill-conceived and disruptive proposal to ”repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act. But we know the three whose public opposition kept the measure from reaching the Senate floor this week — Susan Collins of Maine, John McCain of Arizona and Rand Paul of Kentucky. Although they disagree sharply over what to do about the ACA, they all deserve the country’s thanks for stopping lawmakers from heedlessly...

Facing assured defeat, Republican leaders decided Tuesday not to even hold a vote on the GOP's latest attempt to repeal the Obama health care law, surrendering on their last-gasp effort to deliver on the party's banner campaign promise

Republicans decided Tuesday against bringing the Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill to the floor for a vote, a GOP aide told Business Insider, effectively killing the GOP's Obamacare repeal push for the foreseeable future. Sens. Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy said during a press conference with GOP Senate leaders that there were not enough votes to pass the measure. "Well to be clear, due to events under our control and not under out control, we do not have the votes," Cassidy said.

The Graham-Cassidy Scam It appears that Graham-Cassidy, the latest "repeal and replace" load of nonsense out of the Republican Party, is doomed. The option to pass such "one party only" supported bills expires on September 30th in the Senate. That's when the reconciliation option runs out, at which point standard rules in the Senate apply -- if there is a filibuster you need 60 votes to proceed, and obviously you won't get them without at least some people crossing the aisle. Graham-Cassidy, in summary, would take Medicaid and turn it into a block grant -- in other words, a pile...

Back in 1996, a Republican Congress and a Democratic president (Bill Clinton) enacted one of the most historic bipartisan policy victories in modern times: the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act for welfare reform. The passage of that bill has so many parallels to the fight over the Graham-Cassidy Obamacare-reform legislation now before Congress that it is worth recounting some of the lessons. Just as with the Graham-Cassidy bill, the '96 welfare reform bill gave block grants to the states so they could operate their own welfare systems. The basic federal provisions encouraged tough love: requiring recipients to begin...

I'm a bit out of steam from my rants and phone blitzes during the last two attempts to repeal Obamacare. I am not a Lindsey Graham fan, but I must say I think his Graham-Cassidy bill is a very reasonable bill. For those of you who don't know, this bill merely takes the money for Obamacare subsidies and block grants it over to the states. Each state will be encouraged to design their own healthcare system. If they want Bernie-care in their state, they can go for it. But if they want more choices on the market, they can do...

WASHINGTON — Senator Susan Collins of Maine said on Monday that she would oppose the latest plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, leaving Republican leaders clearly short of the votes they need for passage. Ms. Collins, a Republican, announced her opposition in a written statement, delivering a significant and possibly fatal blow to the party’s seven-year quest to dismantle the health law.

Well, here we are in that last possible moment for healthcare reform under budget reconciliation. That simply means the GOP controlled Senate has until the end of this month, just a few days, to come to a consensus on a healthcare reform legislation that owns up to their promise. They had promised to repeal and replace Obamacare for, what, seven years or so? They had stated they just needed the House of Representatives…done. Then they decried, we need to have the US Senate…granted. Then they pleaded, please give us the White House…trifecta. And then Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell of...

WASHINGTON — An updated version of the Graham-Cassidy health care bill circulating among lobbyists and on Capitol Hill on Sunday night has changed to provide more benefits to Alaska, a move to appeal to Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who has been highly skeptical of efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. The new version would grandfather Native Alaskans into Medicaid so they wouldn't lose coverage after the expanded Medicaid program is rolled back in 2020, according to a section-by-section summary of the new legislation obtained by an industry lobbyist

John McCain has once again shown he has no loyalty to his party, his friends, or to his voters. In likely torpedoing what may prove Republicans’ last effort to rid the country of ObamaCare, McCain evinced the nostalgia of an old man for better times. He wants the Senate to operate as it once did, with bipartisan comity and regular order. Yes, and I’d like to return to the days when kids were addicted to twilight stickball rather than video games. Those gentler times are long gone. What we have now is a bitterly divided Congress, and country. Democrat leaders...

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — Sen. John McCain says he won’t vote for the Republican bill repealing the Obama health care law. His statement likely deals a fatal blow to the last-gasp GOP measure in a Senate showdown expected next week.

Sen. John McCain declared his opposition Friday to the GOP's last-ditch effort to repeal and replace "Obamacare," dealing a likely death blow to the legislation and, perhaps, to the Republican Party's years of vows to kill the program. It was the second time in three months the 81-year-old McCain emerged as the destroyer of his party's signature promise to voters. "I believe we could do better working together, Republicans and Democrats, and have not yet really tried," McCain said of the bill, co-written by Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, his best friend in the Senate, and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana....

That's it. Fed up with the three of them. I give Paul a pass since he is a Doctor and will only vote for the perfect . . . let the voters in Kentucky decide on his fate. McCain, Murkowski and Collins need to pay a penalty for putting themselves and their egos and dislike of this President ahead of what's good for the country. Bombard their offices with calls and curse them out. I'm sure there will things in the new bill I don't like but take what you can get now and revisit it next year.

Being from West Virginia, Rep. Manchin has had to push back against the coastal Democratic machine from time to time, but this round, the Dems may have gone too far and might be losing one of their Representatives to the Republican side. We’ve already seen that the Governor of West Virginia, Jim Justice, was willing to switch to the Republican side of the aisle, making his announcement at a Trump rally. Now, it’s looking like Rep. Joe Manchin might do the same. Democrats have already lost the state, both in terms of their wide support for Trump and the loss...

Sen. John McCain has once again won applause from Obamacare supporters for being among the senators holding off another “repeal and replace” effort: first things first – you are the realest thank u SENATOR – for all you have given to this great nation @SenJohnMcCain — ROSIE (@Rosie)

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said in a statement on Friday that he will oppose the Graham-Cassidy Obamacare repeal bill. McCain’s vote against Graham-Cassidy effectively tanks renewed efforts to repeal Obamacare. McCain said in a statement: advertisement I cannot in good conscience vote for the Graham-Cassidy proposal. I believe we could do better working together, Republicans and Democrats, and have not yet really tried. Nor could I support it without knowing how much it will cost, how it will effect insurance premiums, and how many people will be helped or hurt by it. Without a full CBO score, which won’t be...

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on Friday said he "cannot in good conscience vote for the Graham Cassidy proposal. McCain is one of four Republican senators who are undecided on the GOP healthcare overhaul, and his opposition dealt the bill's chances a significant blow.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on Friday said he "cannot in good conscience vote for the Graham Cassidy proposal. McCain is one of four Republican senators who are undecided on the GOP healthcare overhaul, and his opposition dealt the bill's chances a significant blow. Read his full statement below: "As I have repeatedly stressed, health care reform legislation ought to be the product of regular order in the Senate. Committees of jurisdiction should mark up legislation with input from all committee members, and send their bill to the floor for debate and amendment. That is the only way we might achieve...

Who's right — President Donald Trump and Sen. Bill Cassidy, or late-night host Jimmy Kimmel? None has really captured the complexity of the debate over who might lose insurance protections in the latest Republican health care bill. But of the three, the TV guy is the hardest to refute.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has been trashing the Graham-Cassidy health care bill all over town. Introduced by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the legislation is the GOP's last chance to repeal Obamacare. The Rhode Island Democrat seemed well briefed on what's in the bill when he spit all over it on CNN Thursday. https://youtu.be/m44SoPF1xqo>Sen. Whitehouse Slams Graham-Cassidy Bill Before Admitting He has 'Not Read the Language' "For starters, you don't protect pre-existing conditions when you allow states to deny coverage for pre-existing conditions, which this bill does," Whitehouse said. "Second, he focuses only on the states that...