As ‘Hot Potato’ Lands In The Senate, Republicans Plan To Write More Palatable Version
"We want to get it right," Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said on the Senate floor. "There will be no artificial deadlines." But the GOP's narrow control of the chamber will complicate efforts to draft a bill.
The New York Times:
The Next Step For The Republican Health Care Bill: A Skeptical Senate
As House Republicans on Thursday shoved their health care bill across the finish line, stuffing it with amendments and extra dollars to secure a hard-won majority, the lawmakers who will inherit the legislation delivered their own message from across the Capitol: That’s cute. On the Senate side, where several Republicans have long been deeply skeptical of the House effort, the bill is expected to undergo sweeping changes that might leave it unrecognizable — perhaps stripping away some of the provisions that helped earn the support of hard-right House members and ultimately secure its passage. (Flegenheimer, 5/4)
The Associated Press:
House Repeal Of 'Obamacare' Hands Hot Potato To Wary Senate
Senators are already talking about preventing some of the House bill's Medicaid cuts. Some don't like its easing of Obama coverage requirements on insurers, and others think its tax credits must be redirected toward lower-income people. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch of Utah says senators must focus "on the art of the doable." (Fram and Lardiner, 5/5)
The Wall Street Journal:
Senators Set To Write Their Own Version Of The GOP Health Bill
GOP senators are clashing over central provisions of the House version, and Republicans’ slim majority in the chamber arguably gives them even less room for error than House lawmakers had. Republicans from states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act are resisting the House bill’s steep Medicaid cuts, for example. GOP centrists are uncomfortable with letting states waive the ACA’s protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions. Other Republicans say the bill should do more to help older Americans with their health bills. (Hackman and Armour, 5/4)
Politico:
Senate GOP Rejects House Obamacare Bill
They need to end up with a bill that can win over 50 of the 52 GOP senators in the narrowly divided chamber. And even if they accomplish that, their bill could be unpalatable to House conservatives. The House bill squeaked through on a 217-213 vote. The two chambers have not coordinated much in recent weeks as the House — with an assist from the White House — frantically worked to kick the health care bill to the other side of the Capitol. Senate Republicans say they’ll take the time they need to understand the House bill’s ramifications. And they will insist on a score from the Congressional Budget Office before voting, unlike the House. (Everett and Haberkorn, 5/4)
USA Today:
On Health Care, The Senate Is Likely To Start Over
The Senate will review the House bill but will write its own version over the next few weeks, said Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. "We want to get it right," Alexander said Thursday on the Senate floor. "There will be no artificial deadlines." If the Senate passes its own bill, the House will either have to approve the Senate version or negotiate a compromise with senators, Alexander said. (Kelly, 5/4)
The Hill:
No. 2 Senate Republican: 'No Timeline' On ObamaCare Replacement Bill
Senate Republicans are signaling they are in no hurry to move legislation to repeal and replace ObamaCare after it passed the House Thursday. “There is no timeline,” Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), the Senate’s No. 2 Republican, said when he was asked about a schedule for when the Senate could move a bill. (Carney, 5/4)
USA Today:
5 Things To Watch While Awaiting A Senate Health Care Bill
The House has passed its version of an Obamacare repeal bill, and the Senate now gets to work. But as the legislative gears continue to grind, there are still some key developments to watch out for that could have a dramatic effect on the debate over repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act. (5/5)
Kaiser Health News:
A Squeaker In The House Becomes Headache For The Senate: 5 Things To Watch
Now the bill — and the multitude of questions surrounding it — moves across the Capitol to the Senate. And the job doesn’t get any easier. With only a two-vote Republican majority and no likely Democratic support, it would take only three GOP “no” votes to sink the bill. ... Here are five of the biggest flashpoints that could make trouble for the bill in the upper chamber. (Rovner, 5/4)
Roll Call:
Senate Poses Challenges For Health Care Bill
Don’t expect quick Senate action on the Republican bill to repeal large portions of the 2010 health law. Aides caution that, regardless of House passage on Thursday, it could be weeks before the Senate can begin any significant work on the legislation. The lack of analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office will be a major contributor to the slowdown. The estimate is necessary for the Senate parliamentarian to determine if the bill qualifies under the rules governing the fast-track budget procedure known as reconciliation. (Williams and Lesniewski, 5/4)
News outlets looked at key players in the upcoming debate and recorded concerns from several Republican senators --
The Wall Street Journal:
14 Players To Watch In Senate’s Health-Care Overhaul
The Senate becomes the arena for debating changes to the nation’s health-insurance system, now that the House has passed its overhaul of the Affordable Care Act. Here are some of the senators who will affect the course of the overhaul legislation, with the roles they play in the chamber. (Peterson, Hackman and Radnofsky, 5/5)
Bloomberg:
Senate GOP To Snub House Obamacare Repeal Bill And Write Its Own
Several moderate Republicans have been demanding a more sweeping rewrite of the House bill to ensure more people get covered and premiums come down. A number of moderates were unhappy with a Congressional Budget Office estimate showing an earlier version of the House measure would have resulted in 24 million more people without insurance within a decade. That wing is led by Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a doctor who worked for decades in a charity hospital, and Collins, who together crafted a more moderate plan that kept the Affordable Care Act’s taxes in place instead of repealing them. (Dennis and Litvan, 5/4)
The Hill:
Senate GOP Vows Big Changes For ObamaCare Bill
GOP senators are also troubled by analyses that the legislation would significantly cut federal subsidies for people between the ages of 50 and 65, especially in rural areas such as Maine, Montana, Nebraska and North Carolina. ... “I think it needs a lot of improvement,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who is concerned about the Medicaid provisions, said about the House bill. West Virginia has been one of the biggest beneficiaries under ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion, with 175,000 new people signing up under the law’s more generous guidelines as of 2015. Capito said she is also worried about the reductions in subsidies for older, less affluent people under the House plan. (Bolton, 5/5)
The Hill:
Graham: House ObamaCare Replace Bill 'Should Be Viewed With Caution'
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is firing a warning shot over a GOP ObamaCare replacement bill scheduled to get a vote in the House later Thursday. "A bill — finalized yesterday, has not been scored, amendments not allowed, and 3 hours final debate — should be viewed with caution," Graham said on Twitter. He added that while he was glad the House was making "apparent progress" on repealing and replacing ObamaCare, he is "concerned" about how it's going. (Carney, 5/4)
The Hill:
GOP Senators: We're Doing Our Own Healthcare Bill
Several Republican senators sent a warning shot to the House after its passage of an ObamaCare repeal-and-replace bill Thursday, indicating it won’t be easy to get the measure through the upper chamber. Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.), one of the most vulnerable GOP senators up for reelection in 2018, said he wouldn’t support the House’s bill in its current form. (Roubein, 5/4)
Opponents of the bill have begun targeting the Senate --
CQ Roll Call:
Critics Look To Senate To Alter Health Bill
Influential groups opposed to the House Republican health bill, including the American Medical Association, pivoted Thursday to push senators to derail or reshape the legislation. The House-passed measure would make major revisions to the 2010 health care law, as well as overhaul the funding of Medicaid. Hospital and medical associations are working to quickly devise strategies to kill or revise the bill in the Senate. The House GOP win on the health bill (HR 1628) Thursday came as something of a surprise to some groups. House Republicans stumbled in a March attempt to pass this measure and their odds for success with it appeared far from certain as recently as last week. (Young, 5/4)
The Hill:
Sanders To Trump: 'We'll Quote You' On Support For Universal Healthcare
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) seized on President Trump's compliment of Australia's universal healthcare system on Thursday, saying Democrats will remind the president of the comments from the Senate floor. Sanders weighed in on the comments during an interview on MSNBC after Trump remarked that Australia has "better healthcare than we do" during a meeting with the Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. (Vladimirov, 5/4)
