Senate votes down health care repeal

Despite support from the two senators from Kansas, the U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted against a bill repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act.

Senators voted Wednesday afternoon against another effort to dismantle the 2010 health care law signed by former President Barack Obama. The amendment would have repealed the ACA without a replacement and given lawmakers two years to come up with an alternative.

It had support from Sens. Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts, both Kansas Republicans. The amendment failed 45-55 Wednesday.

The vote against the bill came after senators Tuesday night voted 43-57 against a measure that would repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act after narrowly agreeing Tuesday afternoon to debate a House version of the bill. Vice President Mike Pence broke the 50-50 tie on a procedural vote that allowed debate to begin Tuesday.

Until Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell struggled to get enough votes to start debate on an ACA repeal proposal. Moran voted against the amendment Tuesday night that would repeal and replace the ACA with a provision called the Better Care Reconciliation Act, BCRA.

Moran has opposed that version of the health care repeal bill and helped -- along with Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah -- sink an effort last week to vote on it in the Senate.

Roberts, however, supported the bill, and both senators have supported repealing the ACA entirely.

Tuesday's procedural vote to start debate began a floor debate and amendment process in the Senate that McConnell touted as being an "open amendment process," but Democrats have criticized the effort on the floor, saying it is a path toward a partisan conference committee where the bill's fate would be determined by House and Senate Republicans. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., called the process "surrendering" to the House of Representatives.

"What's the point of being a U.S. senator if you aren't going to make policy?" Murphy said.

He urged Republican senators to work with Democrats on a health care plan.

"We don't have a communicable disease," he said. "We aren't going to physically harm Republicans if they come talk to us."

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., supported the all-out repeal bill and criticized the ACA's regulations that dictate what health insurance plans have to cover.

He said the health care debate was about "freedom of choice," not complex coverage decisions.

"The other side doesn't want to help," Paul said. "They've never met a regulation they wanted to repeal or a tax they've wanted to lower."

Credit: By Allison Kite allison.kite@cjonline.com