Casey, Wolf call for bipartisan reform after GOP health-care plan fails; Toomey vows repeal

July 19--With the plug pulled on the U.S. Senate Republican health-care plan, Sen. Pat Toomey pledged to support a repeal of the Affordable Care Act, while Sen. Bob Casey said Republicans need to forgo their conservative aspirations to reach compromise on reform.

"The Republican health-care scheme has fallen apart because it sells out the middle class, seniors and individual with disabilities," Casey, D-Scranton, said in a statement Tuesday.

"Instead of continuing to pursue a plan that makes Pennsylvanians pay more for less health care with fewer protections, congressional Republicans should work with Democrats to improve our health-care system," Casey said. "If congressional Republicans take repeal, cuts to Medicaid and tax giveaways for the wealthy off the table, then there will be a substantial opportunity to make common-sense reforms."

Already on shaky ground with some of the 52 Republican senators, prospects for the Senate GOP fell apart Monday night when two more Republicans, Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Jerry Moran of Kansas, said they would not support the plan.

That left Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell no choice but to scrap the proposal.

"I am disappointed with the failure of the draft Senate bill," Toomey, R-Lehigh County, said in a statement. "History will look back on this moment and harshly judge this Congress for not beginning the process of replacing Obamacare and for failing to put Medicaid on a sustainable trajectory when we had the opportunity to do so."

Toomey helped write the Senate GOP plan as part of a 13-member panel and had defended it against relentless criticism from Casey and Gov. Tom Wolf that it would devastate Pennsylvania communities and residents that rely on Medicaid funding.

On Tuesday, Toomey said the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, is "failing" and that premiums are up 120 percent in Pennsylvania while 40 percent of Pennsylvanians have just one insurer option in the health-care insurance exchange.

"Families are still in dire need of relief," Toomey said. "Meanwhile, Medicaid is fiscally unsustainable as its costs continue to grow faster than our economy."

Toomey pledged to vote for a repeal of Obamacare, which McConnell said could happen soon. However, repeal would not happen for two years to give Congress time to come up with a suitable plan.

That plan, though, has been dismissed by many who say voting to repeal Obamacare with no replacement plan ready would cause mass confusion and uncertainty in the market.

Wolf and 10 other governors released a bipartisan statement addressing the Senate plan's demise. Republican governors on the release included John Kasich from Ohio -- a McKees Rocks native -- and Larry Hogan from Maryland.

The governors called on Congress to make health insurance more affordable "by controlling costs and stabilizing the market." They said calls to repeal Obamacare now and replace it in two years should be rejected.

"This could leave millions of Americans without coverage," said the governors, who called for a bipartisan effort to fix the "unstable insurance markets."

The governors also said it is "critically important" that governors be part of the process.

As for President Donald Trump's threat to let Obamacare fail, Wolf said that was "reckless" and would "hurt Pennsylvania families."

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