Republican States Also Among Losers In Health Bill

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul says he will not vote for the latest version of the Republican health care bill, calling last-minute changes created to send more money to states with undecided senators as “suspicious”. Leaders are also closely watching Alaska Sen.

Lawmakers over the weekend tweaked the bill to give more money to states including Alaska, Arizona, Maine and Kentucky. Instead, the plan would designate some federal funds to be divided up to states based on their resident’s poverty levels and other factors that impact health care costs like population density.

Congressional Republicans have until Saturday to follow through on their repeated promise of repealing a law most of the country knows as “Obamacare”. John McCain of Arizona, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky and, most recently, Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah.

Graham, who is on the Senate Budget Committee, said he would press for passing another resolution on the budget that includes healthcare, saying he “will not vote for a budget resolution that doesn’t allow the healthcare debate to continue”. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said last week that he’s a “no”, but said over the weekend that he could change his mind if the bill’s authors agreed to slash state block-grant funding in half, which is plainly unrealistic.

Trump administration officials say the bill still offers plenty of money, and governors would find efficient ways to serve as many people, if not more. He said that he could not “in good conscience” vote for current bills to replace the ACA. The state funding estimates don’t take into consideration the bill’s additional cuts to regular Medicaid spending. “We’re going to lose two or three votes and that’s the end of that”.

A partisan health care bill must be voted on by the end of the week, when the vehicle that Republicans are using to move their plan is expected to expire. The bill would also make major changes to traditional Medicaid, capping the federal government’s contribution. Researchers at the Brookings Institution predict the Graham-Cassidy bill would leave 32 million more Americans without health insurance by 2027.

“That’s the only way he gets to a yes”, Gor said in an email.

An inscrutably written provision in the Republican health care bill would steer extra federal cash to Wisconsin, home state of one of the measure’s co-sponsors, according to health care analysts who’ve examined the legislation. He added that whether or not the current bill passes, Trump has assured him that “he is going to expand the definition of who can be part of an association, which “will happen in the next couple of weeks”.

That has political implications for Republicans girding for congressional midterm elections next year, as well as for the next presidential race in 2020.