HealthCare Reform Update

Health Care Reform Bill Update
Last week, the Senate continued its work to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). On July 25, Senator McCain (R-AZ) returned to the Senate Chamber to vote with his colleagues on the motion to proceed to the health care debate. This started the debate clock on health care reform, and late Thursday, July 27, Senate Majority Leader McConnell (R-KY) put forward an amendment referred to as the “skinny repeal bill,” which was a scaled-down plan to repeal parts of the ACA. The “skinny” bill would have repealed the individual and employer mandates, defunded Planned Parenthood and provided states flexibility to redefine essential health benefits. In the wee hours of Friday morning, July 28, the “skinny” bill came up for a vote, and by a margin of 48-52, the amendment failed. Senator Collins (R-ME), Senator Murkowski (R-AK) and Senator McCain (R-AZ) voted against the amendment as did all of the Senate’s democrats. As a result, Majority Leader McConnell (R-KY) put the health care repeal effort on hold and announced that the Senate would move onto other legislation items.