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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has, by some interpretations, admitted both that Obamacare is not dead, as his president and many of his fellow Republicans keep insisting. He's even conceding—apparently not as a threat this time—that working with Democrats to stabilize the insurance markets would be necessary. That's if "my side is unable to agree on an adequate replacement." That's as close as he's come to yet to acknowledging the reality of both Obamacare and the problems he's having with his conference.
That "adequate" part is going to be in the eye of the beholder, but it got much more complicated Thursday by the hard-line stance Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) has decided to take on the bill. Lee is best known as Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-TX) faithful sidekick, and he's sure playing that role this week, saying that he will not vote for a bill that doesn't have Cruz's high-risk pool scheme included.
"The entire bill is unacceptable without the Consumer Freedom Option," Conn Carroll, Lee's spokesman, wrote in an email. This proposal would allow insurers to sell health plans that don't comply with Affordable Care Act rules, like pre-existing conditions protections or essential health benefits, as long as they also sell plans that meet all of those rules. Critics from both parties say this could make it harder for people with pre-existing conditions to get coverage.
That's a marginal position among Senate Republicans, where one Republican staffer says it would be generous to think that the Cruz proposition would get 15 votes.
We're getting much closer to beating this thing. It's all about keeping up the pressure.
We delayed Trumpcare—for now. But the GOP leadership is hell-bent on denying health insurance, and is working hard to coerce Republican senators. We need 3 Republicans to stand firm. Call your senator at (202) 224-3121 and tell them “NO DEAL.” Then, tell us how it went.