Key problem for Senate health care bill: Holdouts on both ends of GOP
The Senate plan to replace Obamacare is already in danger. Right now, Republicans don't have the 50 votes needed to pass their bill. Four of the 52 GOP senators say they're not ready to support the current version, revealed Thursday after weeks of secret negotiations.
The key problem for GOP leaders is that they have holdouts on both ends of their own party – and any move they make to win over one side would jeopardize support from the other, reports CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes.
President Trump tweeted: "I am very supportive of the Senate #HealthcareBill. Look forward to making it really special! Remember, ObamaCare is dead."
But Mr. Trump acknowledged the Senate's health care proposal is facing trouble with his own party.
"I think that they'll probably get there, we'll have see. You know, healthcare is a very difficult situation," Mr. Trump said on Fox News.
While four Senate conservatives are demanding big changes, just three holdouts would kill the bill.
"They are also four good guys and they are four friends of mine," Mr. Trump said.
Kentucky's Rand Paul, one of the four, said, "We cannot support the current bill."
"I just didn't run on 'Obamacare lite.' I didn't run on replacing it with more government programs," Paul said.
Senate GOP leaders tried to strike a balance between Obamacare, which they say is failing, and a House health care bill Mr. Trump called "mean."
The Senate bill maintains more of Obamacare's tax credits to help low income Americans afford insurance. It also provides tens of billions of dollars to bring down premiums on Obamacare's flagging individual market. It keeps Obamacare's protections for people with preexisting conditions.
Sen. Lindsey Graham believes there's a 50 percent chance it will pass.
"The outline was promising. It does repeal the individual, employer mandate. It puts Medicaid on a more sustainable path," the South Carolina Republican said.
Medicaid emerged as a key flashpoint Thursday, inciting protests from disabled activists. The Senate bill would roll back Obamacare's expansion of the program, and for the first time impose limits on federal funding.
GOP moderates like Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said that would hurt the poor in their states.
"That could cause states to shrink eligibility, to cut people who really need health care from the program," Collins said.
Democrats made it clear where they stand
"Meaner! Can you read it? Do I have to color it in?" Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said.
Even former President Obama made a pitch to save his signature achievement, writing on Facebook that the GOP plan is "a massive transfer of wealth" from the poor or middle class to rich Americans. "Simply put, if there's a chance you might get sick, get old, or start a family – this bill will do you harm."
More than a dozen leading health and medical groups also oppose the Senate bill, including AARP, the American Lung Association and the American Hospital Association.
