Republicans moves to save Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill
US Republicans have made changes to their new bill to replace Obamacare, hoping to keep it alive after being rejected by Republican bigwigs like Senators Arizona Senator John McCain.
The so-called Graham-Cassidy, named after Republican senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana who sponsor it, was the party’s new hope to replace former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law, the Affordable Care Act.
However, McCain’s refusal to support the initiative last week was enough to kill the draft by breaking the GOP’s fragile majority in Senate.
Now, in a desperate move to revive the bill, the party has increased funding for some states like Maine (43 percent) and Arizona (14 percent), according to estimates of the state-by-state impacts obtained by The Hill.
Under the new bill, Alaska would see a small drop in federal funding, which backers of the bill say would be compensated by the money that it would save on its Medicaid program.
Democrats seem unimpressed by the new revisions, calling the explanation provided for smaller funding in states like Alaska as misleading.
McCain has been joined by Senator Rand Paul, another Republican heavyweight, who had been pressured by President Donald Trump to vote for the bill.
Trump’s long-time ally, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, has also opposed the bill, calling it “too injurious” to the people of hi state.
Trump had promised during his election campaign, and later as president, to introduce a new health system that benefits more Americans at a lower cost.
However, after campaigning for year to replace Obamacare, the Republican Party has failed to unite behind previous initiatives like the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), despite having a 52-48 majority over Democrats in the 100-member Senate.
In the most contentious congressional vote of Trump's presidency in May, lawmakers voted 217 to 213 to pass the Obamacare repeal-and-replace bill.
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