The Senate's plan to repeal Obamacare without a replacement failed — but the debate carries on

Mitch McConnell, accompanied by Senator John Cornyn and Senator John Barrasso
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, accompanied by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), speaks with reporters following the successful vote to open debate on a health care bill on Capitol Hill. Reuters

Senate Republicans finished up day two of their debate on their efforts to reshape the US health care system on Wednesday night, with an unsuccessful vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Advertisement

The debate has started shifting toward a "skinny repeal" bill, which would repeal certain aspects of the ACA. If passed, it could lead to the House and Senate working together to compromise on one final bill. 

The debate began earlier Tuesday, and the Senate has 20 hours of legislative time to debate, time that's split equally between Democrats and Republicans, and some of which was used on Tuesday.

Below is a full recap of Wednesday's action on healthcare. Follow along with the debate on Thursday here 

Advertisement

Wednesday night — A CBO score for the skinny bill, and Senate is adjourned.

sanders schumer
Yuri Gripas/Reuters

On Wednesday evening, the Senate continued with debate on the health care plan as new details about what that might look like came in. 

The Congressional Budget Office came out with a report on the so-called "skinny repeal" plan. It found that 16 million more Americans could lose their health insurance under the plan. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the healthcare debate a "sham," pointing to the issue that it's not clear which bill will be voted on.

"We don't even have a final bill to amend," Schumer said.  

After that, the Senate adjourned until Thursday morning. 

Advertisement

6:10 p.m. - Senate has another set of votes.

At 6:10 p.m., the Senate held two votes: one motion to commit from Sen. Bob Casey, which if it passes would send the bill back to the Senate Finance Committee, and the other, an amendment from Sen. Dean Heller.

The short "Sense of the Senate" amendment is meant to show that senators are committed to Medicaid, the government program that covers medical expenses for low-income Americans.

Both votes were rejected. Casey's amendment fell with 48 for and 51 against. Heller's was rejected 10-90. 

Advertisement

4:30 p.m. - Senate votes against Donnelly motion.

The Senate voted on Wednesday not to send the House bill back to the Senate Finance Committee to take out the provisions that cut Medicaid, end the Medicaid expansion, or shift costs toward states.

Senate Democrats, who voted in favor of the motion, needed a majority to pass. In the end, the vote was 48 in favor, 52 against. 

Advertisement

4 p.m. - Vote to repeal Obamacare without a replacement fails.

In a vote Wednesday, the Obamacare Repeal Reconciliation Act wasn't able to get the simple majority it needed, with 45 voting in favor and 55 against. In total, seven Republican senators voted against the repeal-only plan: Senators Susan Collins, Dean Heller, Shelley Moore Capito, Rob Portman, Lamar Alexander, Lisa Murkowski, and John McCain. 

The Senate has so far voted against two health care bills. 

Advertisement

3:30 p.m. - Senate holds votes on amendments to the House health care bill.

Senator Rand Paul
Senator Rand Paul Reuters

The first has to do with the "Obamacare Repeal Reconciliation Act," a plan to straight repeal the Affordable Care Act. The amendment was introduced by Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who has been a proponent of a straight Obamacare repeal. 

The second will be on a motion raised by Senator Joe Donnelly of Indiana. The motion would send the bill back to the Senate Finance Committee to take out the provisions that cut Medicaid, end the Medicaid expansion, or shift costs toward states.

Advertisement

1:10 p.m. - Senator Joe Donnelly introduces his motion to strip the bill of its Medicaid provisions.

Screen Shot 2017 07 26 at 1.10.21 PM
Senator Joe Donnelly CSPAN

The second vote that's happening this afternoon will be on Donnelly's motion. The motion would send the bill back to the Senate Finance Committee to take out the provisions that cut Medicaid, end the Medicaid expansion, or shift costs toward states.

The Better Care Reconciliation Act bill would cut $756 billion from Medicaid through 2026 and phases out the Medicaid expansion, while the repeal-only bill would cut $842 billion from Medicaid by 2026.   

Advertisement

12:15 p.m. - Senate pushes back vote on repeal-only bill.

The bill will now be voted on at 3:30 p.m. 

Advertisement

11 a.m. - Debate ahead of vote on Obamacare repeal bill focuses on "skinny repeal."

Screen Shot 2017 07 26 at 11.01.32 AM
Senator Christopher Murphy debates the Senate healthcare plan. CSPAN

During the morning debate session, Democrats were the main voices on the floor. The senators, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Sen. Christopher Murphy of Connecticut used their time to attack a last-ditch effort to get a bill passed. The so-called "skinny repeal" bill, which would repeal certain aspects of the ACA — specifically the individual and employer mandates — and, if passed, lead to the House and Senate working together to compromise on one final bill. 

Starting at 11:30 a.m., the Senate will start to vote on a repeal-only bill. The vote will be procedural, like the one that took place last night on a version of the repeal and replace plan. If it doesn't pass, it won't be the end of the road for the bill, but it should give a sense of what would happen to it if it came up for the full vote. 

Advertisement

9:30 a.m. - Debate continues.

After a recess following Tuesday night's vote on "Trumpcare 3.0," a revised version of the Senate's Better Care Reconciliation Act, debate has resumed in the Senate. Up first on Wednesday should be the repeal-only bill.

The bill, titled the "Obamacare Repeal Reconciliation Act" is nearly identical to the bill that was vetoed by President Barack Obama in 2015. The bill would repeal all the provisions put in place by the ACA, including key taxes, the Medicaid expansion some states opted into and getting rid of mandates for employers and individuals to provide and have insurance. That wouldn't go into effect for two years, giving Congress time to come up with a replacement before the repeal starts. 

According to the Congressional Budget Office, 17 million fewer Americans would have health insurance in 2018, a number that would grow to 32 million by 2026. By 2026, health insurance premiums are expected to double. Cuts to Medicaid would hit $842 billion by 2026.  

That vote is scheduled for later this morning. 

Healthcare Senate Mitch McConnell
Advertisement
Close icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.