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Senate Republicans Mull “Skinny Repeal” of Affordable Care Act

HeadlineJul 27, 2017

On Capitol Hill, the Senate on Wednesday rejected legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act without a replacement, after seven Republican senators broke ranks to reject the bill in a 45-55 vote. The latest defeat came a day after Republicans failed in a bid to pass their bill to repeal and replace Obamacare. With just eight hours left to debate healthcare, Senate leaders are now considering what’s being called a “skinny repeal,” which would eliminate the individual mandate and the employer mandate, that requires certain businesses to provide health insurance to employees. It would not touch the Medicaid program. Democrats blasted Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for keeping details of the skinny repeal secret. But on Wednesday night, the Congressional Budget Office offered its assessment of what Democrats said is a likely draft of the bill—finding it would increase the number of uninsured people by 16 million while increasing premiums by about 20 percent. The debate came amid massive protests on Capitol Hill and at lawmakers’ offices. A recent USA Today poll found just 12 percent of Americans supported the Senate version of the healthcare bill. We’ll have more on the fight over healthcare later in the broadcast.

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