Protesters express their opposition to the health care vote in May by U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann, a Tennessee Republican, during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Rocky Top post office on May 9, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The U.S. Senate continued to debate a potential repeal of at least part of the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare,” on Thursday night. It’s not clear what the Senate will eventually approve.
It’s also not clear what type of agreement the Senate can reach with the U.S. House of Representatives, if the Senate passes a bill. The House has already passed its own bill, the American Health Care Act.
On Thursday night, the Senate debate was focused on a so-called “skinny repeal,” which would roll back parts of the Affordable Care Act, or ACA. It would repeal the mandates that most people have health insurance and that large employers cover their employees, but it would leave most of the health law in place, The New York Times reported.
It wasn’t clear if the Republican-controlled Senate had the votes to advance the legislation.
The vote on “skinny repeal” expected tonight comes after Senate Republicans were unable to reach consensus on broader legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and after an earlier repeal bill failed on Wednesday.
The health care debate in the Senate started with a 51-50 vote on Tuesday.
As the health care debate has played out in Congress this year, there has been some concern in Oak Ridge and Anderson County over the potential repeal of the Affordable Care Act, which was signed into law by President Barack Obama in March 2010. It’s considered his signature domestic legislative achievement.
There has also been some concern here over possible Medicaid cuts. [Read more…]
