KC opposition rallies ahead of Senate vote on newly released health care bill
Nurses and administrators at the
McCaskill said the speakers were representative of national health care, disability and anti-drug groups mobilizing against the Republican bill meant to replace the Affordable Care Act, commonly called Obamacare.
"I do think this is a crisis and I think it's all hands on deck," McCaskill said.
Senate Majority Leader
A
McConnell needs almost every Republican to support the bill. The
But several
"We have concerns about what the changes in Medicaid may mean to those with disabilities," Moran said in a video posted to YouTube.
Medicaid is jointly funded by the federal government and the states and the Republican bills would impose limits on the federal dollars for the first time. Those caps are projected to reduce Medicaid funding by 25 percent or more over 10 years.
The reductions would apply to states such as
The Medicaid portion of the bill is also drawing opposition from the insurance industry, which has a growing stake in Medicaid as more states seek to privatize parts of their programs.
The heads of 10 Medicaid managed care companies sent a letter to McConnell and Senate Minority Leader
"It really takes some big chunks out of Medicaid," Sparks said.
McCaskill conceded some problems with Obamacare, and pointed to the 25 "bare" counties in
That's something both parties can agree on if the health care talks open up beyond their current party-line positions, she said.
"If that (Republican bill) fails, then we can go back to the drawing board and work together to fix the problems with Obamacare," McCaskill said.
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