Senate Plan To Replace Obamacare In Trouble
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WASHINGTON (CBSMiami) - The Senate plan to repeal and replace Obamacare is in trouble after a group of conservative Senators said the plan doesn't go far enough in being fiscally conservative.
"We cannot support the current bill," said Senator Rand Paul, R-KY.
Paul, along with three other GOP senators, said the secretly crafted Senate health care plan is dead on arrival unless they see some major changes. For example, they want fewer government subsidies designed to make health insurance more affordable.
"As we estimate the cost of the subsidies to buy insurance, we actually believe they may exceed, or at least equal, the subsidies that are under Obamacare," said Paul.
President Donald Trump plans to lead the talks to get the reluctant Republicans back on board.
"Well they are also four good guys and they are four friends of mine I think that they'll probably get there but we'll have to wait and see," President Trump said on "Fox & Friends."
The problem facing GOP leaders is that any changes that move the bill further to the right has the potential to alienate moderate Republicans.
"Obviously, I have a very different view than Sen. Cruz or Sen. Paul about the direction the bill should be heading in," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-ME.
Collins and others are worried about the bill rolling back the Affordable Care Act's expansion of Medicaid and putting limits on federal funding of the program.
"That could cause states to shrink eligibility, to cut people who really need health care from the program," said Collins.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell insists he wants a vote on the bill before the July 4th recess, leaving GOP leaders one week to win over more votes.
No Democrat will support the plan which means Republicans can only afford to lose two Republican votes in the Senate or else the bill will fail.
