State’s two senators vow to work to improve health care bill after ‘skinny repeal’ fails

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Both U.S. senators from Delaware heaped praise on U.S. Sen. John  McCain, who cast the deciding vote against the “skinny repeal” of the Affordable  Care  Act. 

U.S. Sen. Chris Coons issued the following:

“The bill rejected tonight by the Senate was bad policy produced by a bad process. It would have left 16 million more Americans without health insurance and increased premiums by 20% each year for Americans lucky enough to retain their insurance.

Make no mistake, dodging the bullet of this disastrous bill is an important win for the American people and for our health care system, and it would not have been possible without the bravery of my friend, Senator John McCain from Arizona. Senator McCain, as he has done many times before, put politics aside to do what he believed was right, and Arizonans, Delawareans, and Americans across the country owe him a debt of gratitude.

Over the last several months, I’ve said time and again that I’m more than willing to work with Republicans to improve and fix the Affordable Care Act. That offer stands. I hope that after tonight, we can finally work together to create a health care system that works for every American.”

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U.S. Sen. Tom Carper offered the following statement:

“In the words of Senator Schumer this evening, it’s time to turn the page. Tonight, we have the opportunity to change course and return to regular order, just as Senator McCain called for us to do when he returned to the Senate earlier this week. In the days ahead, we must immediately focus on stabilizing the exchanges. But then, we should fix the parts of the Affordable Care Act that need to be fixed and preserve the parts that should be preserved.

“We don’t need a Democratic victory, a Republican victory or a Trump victory. We need a victory for the American people. It’s now up to us – every single one of us – to prove to our constituents that we can do it. It’s what they expect from us and, more important, it’s what they deserve. Let’s get to work.”

The two senators joined all Democrats and independents in rejecting the measure, which would have repealed the mandate that requires health insurance, but did not slash the costs of the Medicaid health care program for those with lower incomes.

The health insurance industry had criticized the lack of a mandate, which would allow healthier people to exit the health care system without paying a penalty on their taxes.

Backers of repeal efforts claimed the system was on the brink of collapse.

As Carper noted, the marketplace program for individuals and some small businesses is under pressure, with Delaware having only one insurer. Highmark Blue Cross. Highmark is pushing for a 33 percent increase in premiums. 

Marketplace programs have high deductibles, meaning a family can still face high out-of-pocket expenses. For those with moderate incomes, subsidies have been put in place to reduce premium costs. 

Meanwhile, public support for the Affordable Care Act has grown, as worries grew about the loss of coverage, including the possibility of provisions that would that would put a lifetime cap on benefits or sharply increase premiums of those with pre-existing conditions. 

 

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