Healthcare

GOP Senator Says Trumpcare is Probably Dead

Written by SK Ashby

Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) says it's unlikely that Republicans will repeal and replace Obamacare when they return from recess next week and unlikely that they'll do so this year.

“It’s unlikely that we will get a health-care deal,” Mr. Burr told WXII 12 News, a North Carolina news station, on Thursday. He said that the House-passed GOP health plan was “dead on arrival,” and that “I don’t see a comprehensive health-care plan this year.” [...]

At least three conservative Republicans are opposed to the health plan priorities of at least three moderate Republicans, making the pathway for passing a bill very tricky.

The pathway for passing a bill in the Senate is also "very tricky" because the political calculus is different for politicians holding or running for a statewide office.

Senators do not sit in safely-gerrymandered districts where their chances of losing their seats are very low even if they're the worst member of Congress.

Complicating matters even further, the House Trumpcare bill is "dead on arrival," in part, because it probably does not meet the requirements for using the reconciliation process to pass it with a simple majority. Some GOP senators also have their own reasons for opposing the House bill, particularly the massive Medicaid cuts.

Even if Senate Republicans were able to create a bill they can all agree on that meets the requirements for reconciliation, it's not clear if House Republicans would balk at it. House Republicans passed their bill with just 2 votes to spare and their bill has become even more unpopular since that time. It's not even clear if they could pass their own bill again if they were asked to do so today.

Richard Burr is the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, but he also sits on the Health and Finance committees and several related subcommittees. If he says it's dead, he's probably right.