{"id":37710,"date":"2017-08-01T05:10:01","date_gmt":"2017-08-01T05:10:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=37710"},"modified":"2017-08-01T05:10:01","modified_gmt":"2017-08-01T05:10:01","slug":"gop-leaders-say-its-time-for-senate-to-move-on-from-health-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/gop-leaders-say-its-time-for-senate-to-move-on-from-health-care.html","title":{"rendered":"GOP leaders say its time for Senate to move on from health care"},"content":{"rendered":"

GOP leaders say it’s time for Senate to move on from health care<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

GOP leaders say it’s time for Senate to move on from health care:- Senate Republican leaders signaled Monday that they intend to move on from health care to other legislative priorities, even as President Trump continued to pressure lawmakers to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.<\/span><\/p>\n

The discord comes amid uncertainty in the insurance industry and on Capitol Hill about what will come next after last week\u2019s dramatic collapse of the GOP\u2019s effort to scrap the seven-year-old landmark law. Trump on Monday threatened to end subsidies to insurers and also took aim at coverage for members of \u00adCongress.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the White House insistence appears to have done little to convince congressional GOP leaders to keep trying. One after another on Monday, top GOP senators said that with no evidence of a plan that could get 50 votes, they were looking for other victories.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had our vote, and we\u2019re moving on to tax reform,\u201d said Sen. John Thune (S.D.), one of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell\u2019s top lieutenants, speaking of the next big GOP legislative priority.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sen. Roy Blunt (Mo.), another member of the Republican Senate leadership, put it this way: \u201cI think it\u2019s time to move on to something else. Come back to health care when we\u2019ve had more time to get beyond the moment we\u2019re in \u2014 see if we can\u2019t put some wins on the board.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

McConnell did not address health care in his remarks opening Senate business on Monday afternoon. His top deputy, Sen. John Cornyn (Tex.), brushed back comments White House budget director Mick Mulvaney made on CNN on Sunday urging Republicans not to vote on anything else until voting on health care again.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think got much experience in the Senate, as I recall,\u201d said Cornyn as he made his way into the Senate chamber. \u201cAnd he\u2019s got a big job. He ought to do that job and let us do our job.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mulvaney was echoing what Trump tweeted Saturday: \u201cUnless the Republican Senators are total quitters, Repeal & Replace is not dead! Demand another vote before voting on any other bill!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

On Monday, Trump tweeted: \u201cIf Obamacare is hurting people, & it is, why shouldn\u2019t it hurt the insurance companies & why should Congress not be paying what public pays?\u201d He was referencing subsidies that members of Congress receive to help offset their coverage costs purchased through the District\u2019s exchanges, as required under the Affordable Care Act.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Monday that based on a conversation he had with Trump, the president is considering taking executive action on health care, Reuters reported. A Paul spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and it was not clear what such an action could be. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price indicated over the weekend that he was considering using his regulatory authority to waive the Affordable Care Act\u2019s mandate that all Americans buy coverage or pay a tax.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some rank-and-file Republican lawmakers have used the collapse of repeal-and-replace to offer new fixes and improvements to health care, but there was no sign their leaders were engaged. On Monday, Price met with fellow physician Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who has proposed restructuring how federal money is distributed under the Affordable Care Act. Separately, a bipartisan group of 43 House members released details of their own plan.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a productive meeting. All involved want a path forward,\u201d said Cassidy in a statement after his White House meeting, also attended by several governors. In addition to turning over federal funds to the states, Cassidy and Sens. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.) have proposed repealing key mandates and a tax under the law.<\/span><\/p>\n

But there are no signs that plan will be put to a vote any time soon. It has not been scored by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. It\u2019s unclear how many Republicans would vote for it. And McConnell is working on confirming Trump\u2019s nominees this week.<\/span><\/p>\n

A growing number of Republican lawmakers have raised the prospect of working with Democrats on health care. The collection of centrist House Republicans and Democrats unveiled a proposal Monday calling for revisions they said would help stabilize the individual insurance \u00admarket.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.), a co-chair of the centrist Republican and Democratic \u201cProblem Solvers Caucus,\u201d which released the plan, said he and his colleagues have been working on a draft for about three weeks, as they saw \u201cthe writing on the wall\u201d that the Senate bill was likely to fail.<\/span><\/p>\n

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) did not champion the plan. AshLee Strong, his press secretary, said in an email: \u201cWhile the speaker appreciates members coming together to promote ideas, he remains focused on repealing and replacing Obamacare.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Strong did not respond to a follow-up question about how that ought to happen. The House passed a sweeping rewrite of the Affordable Care Act this year, with only Republicans voting for it.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Senate tried to pass its own version but was unable to reach an accord, even on a more modest bill that was meant to keep the talks alive in both chambers. That bill was rejected Friday when Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) joined two other Republicans to sink the legislation in a tension-filled vote that happened while most of the country was asleep.<\/span><\/p>\n

In their outline, Reed and his colleagues said federal cost-sharing subsidies should be placed under congressional oversight and that mandatory funding should be assured. Now such disbursements are up to the Trump administration, which has been paying them monthly but has threatened to withhold them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Top Democrats and Republicans warned against that.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, as insurers prepare to lock in their rates and plans for 2018, the Trump administration is dangling a massive sword of Damocles over the heads of millions of Americans \u2014 threatening to end payments the administration is supposed to make that would lower deductibles and out-of-pocket costs for so many Americans,\u201d said Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) on the Senate floor.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thune said he was \u201chopeful\u201d the administration would keep making the payments.<\/span><\/p>\n

After Friday\u2019s vote, some Democrats have felt more empowered to talk about changes to the Affordable Care Act. The centrist House lawmakers want to repeal the 2.3 percent tax on medical device manufacturers and loosen the employer mandate under the Affordable Care Act. The law says companies with 50 or more full-time employees must offer coverage. They want to raise the threshold to 500.<\/span><\/p>\n

They also said they want to create a state stability fund to reduce premiums and spur more innovation at the state level.<\/span><\/p>\n

Getting health-care legislation backed only by Republicans to Trump\u2019s desk by the end of August is all but impossible, even if they suddenly put aside their disagreements. The House is in recess until September. The Senate is scheduled to be in session the first two weeks of August.<\/span><\/p>\n

The prospects of a bipartisan deal were just as doubtful, amid fierce partisanship that has gripped the Capitol in the Trump era, which has shown no signs of abating. Even those pushing for one were tempering expectations.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not stupid,\u201d Reed said. \u201cThose partisan swords \u2014 they\u2019re going to be out there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/powerpost\/gop-leaders-say-its-time-for-senate-to-move-on-from-health-care\/2017\/07\/31\/d6000d3c-760d-11e7-9eac-d56bd5568db8_story.html?utm_term=.410c3144603b<\/span><\/p>\n

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