New Senate health care bill teeters on the brink

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Republican leaders unveiled a new health care bill Thursday in their increasingly desperate effort to deliver on seven years of promises to repeal and replace “Obamacare.” They immediately lost two key votes, leaving none to spare as the party’s own divisions put its top campaign pledge in serious jeopardy.

President Donald Trump declared Wednesday that failure would make him “very angry” and that he would blame Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

But talking with reporters aboard Air Force One en route to France, Trump also acknowledged the challenges lawmakers face.

The reworked bill McConnell presented to fellow Republicans aims to win conservatives’ support by letting insurers sell low-cost, skimpy policies. At the same time, he seeks to placate hesitant moderates by adding billions to combat opioid abuse and help consumers with skyrocketing insurance costs.

But it was not clear whether the Republican leader has achieved the delicate balance he needs after an embarrassing setback last month when he abruptly canceled a vote in the face of widespread opposition to a bill he crafted largely in secret.

McConnell said the 172-page legislation is the senators’ opportunity to make good on years of promises.