by LISA GILLESPIE (KPR) –
CREDIT RYLAND BARTON, WFPL, CROPPED
Republican Senator Rand Paul is slamming the effort by his Kentucky colleague, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Paul said he won’t know how he will vote until the bill is released to legislators later this week.
Paul doesn’t believe McConnell will have the votes to pass the measure and will have to re-negotiate it.
On Tuesday, McConnell told reporters in Washington to expect the draft repeal legislation on Thursday. McConnell is heading a committee of 13 Republican senators that will work on the bill.
The bill, according to reports, is similar to the House version, but with a bigger window to phase out Medicaid expansion and more funds for tax credits for buying health insurance.
Senator Paul is not part of the negotiations. He opposed the House bill, and McConnell is not likely to count on his vote, which means he’ll need almost every other Senate Republican to vote yes.
“Senate Republicans remain focused on the following: stabilizing insurance markets, which are collapsing under Obamacare; improving the affordability of health insurance, which is spiking under Obamacare; freeing people from Obamacare mandates, which forces them to buy insurance they don’t want; strengthening Medicaid for those who need it the most; and preserving access for care for patients with preexisting conditions,” McConnell said.
Senate Democrats, meanwhile, have been invoking a procedural rule to delay action on the measure.
McConnell says the Senate will likely vote on the bill next week.
