Jan 04, 2016 |
By Jack Craver
Republicans are
inching closer to getting a bill that would repeal major parts of the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) on President Obama’s desk — where it
will almost certainly be vetoed.
The Senate
passed the partial repeal bill, H.R. 3762, last
month through the budget “reconciliation” process.
Supporters of a
bill normally need at least 60 votes to get a bill through the Senate, to avoid
the threat of a filibuster, or endless round of debate. But, under Senate
budget reconciliation process rules, Senate leaders can get a budget
reconciliation measure through with just 51 votes.
The website of
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy shows a House vote on H.R.
3762 will take place Wednesday. Fox News says the vote could come as early
as Tuesday.
The version of
bill the House is now being asked to approve is substantially different from a
version it passed in October.
The previous
version targeted the individual and employer mandates, along with the Cadillac
plan excise tax and medical device tax. That version was denounced by some
conservative groups as amounting to surrender on one of the GOP’s major
campaign promises.
Although only a
small group of Republicans in the House voted against that bill in protest,
three key Republicans in the Senate, including Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, pledged to oppose it unless
it was rewritten to be deadlier to PPACA.
The new version
attacks funding for the PPACA Medicaid expansion program and the PPACA public
health insurance exchange premium subsidy program.
To overturn a
presidential veto, supporters of the bill would need to get two-thirds
majorities in both the House and the Senate.
Sixteen million
Americans now have coverage obtained through PPACA programs.
Republicans
have said they would find an alternative for people who would lose
PPACA-related coverage if a PPACA repeal or partial repeal passed, but they
have provided few details on how they’d accomplish that.
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