Dive Brief:
- On Thursday, he Senate passed partisan legislation to repeal major sections of President Obama's healthcare law, advancing Republican's long held agenda to undo Obama's landmark achievement.
- After years of failed attempts, the Senate finally approved a repeal bill 52-47, which will now be likely taken up by the House of Representatives and sent to the President's desk.
- The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has already indicated the President's intent to veto the bill were it to reach his desk.
Dive Insight:
The Senate relied on special budget rules, known as reconciliation, to limit Democratic actions to delay a vote and lower the threshold of passage to a simple majority. All Senate Republicans except Senators Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Susan Collins (R-ME) voted for the measure.
The Senate bill strengthened a previously passed House bill, H.R. 3762, which was also aimed at repealing Obamacare. Specifically, the legislation would revoke the federal government's authority to run healthcare exchanges as well as ending the subsidies given to help people afford coverage. It would also roll back the expansion of Medicaid under Obamacare, which 30 states have adopted.
Additionally, the bill includes language defunding Planned Parenthood. Following allegations the group sold fetal tissue from aborted babies, Republicans have clamored for the organization to be stripped of federal funding.
Since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed in 2010, the Republican party has attempted to repeal the law scores of times, mostly in the House. Under Democratic control, the Senate had never taken up a standalone vote on a repeal bill. Now, with Republicans in charge, the party should finally be able to put a repeal bill in front of President Obama - a long held campaign promise. Furthermore, a bill passed by both houses now could streamline future attempts to successfully repeal the law in the event they won control of the Oval Office and Congress in 2016.
In a statement of administration policy, the OMB pointed to the estimated 17.6 million Americans who gained healthcare coverage as a result of the ACA's passage. Repealing the law would result in those individuals losing coverage and potentially higher premiums for those with employer-based insurance, according to the OMB. The Senate passage of the bill, however, comes at a time when insurance companies are reporting renewed challenges with the signature healthcare exchanges.