Republican governors slam the Senate's last-ditch effort to repeal Obamacare

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July 27, 2017 3:25 AM

Mitch McConnell could resort to a "skinny repeal" plan, a last-ditch effort in which a series of amendments repeal certain parts of the ACA.

Ohio Governor John Kasich was among the governors who opposed the "skinny repeal" plan.

It's looking more likely that the Senate will vote on a last-resort effort to repeal Obamacare.

The so-called "skinny repeal" plan, if passed,

While the text of the "skinny repeal" bill hasn't been released yet, the bill would be nowhere near as extensive as the full-repeal plan or the BCRA. But it would seek to alter the much-criticized mandates that Republicans have targeted for years.

Getting rid of the individual mandate with no other changes to the bill, according to the Congressional Budget Office, would leave 15 million more Americans without health care by 2026. The change would also lead to a 20% increase in premiums, the CBO said. It could also send the ACA marketplace into a "death spiral," health experts warn.

Why the Senate might resort to a skinny repeal

Chris Krueger, an analyst at the Washington-based Cowen and Company, compared getting every GOP senator on board with a bill to squeezing a balloon, because it's so hard to align both moderates and conservatives on a plan.

That was clear Tuesday night with the vote on a revised version of the BCRA, in which nine Republican senators voted against the bill — including both conservatives and moderates — and again on Wednesday, when seven Republican senators voted against a repeal-only bill.

If the Senate is successful in passing a skinny repeal, Senate Republicans would then need to find common ground with House Republicans to get to a bill that both chambers can agree on. That could be a rather lengthy process.

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