Updates of ObamaCare Repeal and Replace Vote in Congress

GOP to Vote on ObamaCare Repeal Today

Congress began to vote to repeal and replace ObamaCare July 25, 2017. The results are still uncertain.^[1][2]

TIP: The Senate bill to repeal and replace ObamaCare (the Affordable Care Act) never passed, but that hasn’t stopped Republicans from trying to pass like-minded plans. The most recent attempt was September’s  Graham-Cassidy Proposal. As of September 19, 2017 nothing has passed, but we could still see similar repeal and replace bills in the future.

UPDATE: Republicans got 50 votes needed, and then Pence broke the tie for the necessary 51 to move forward with a “motion to proceed.” That means Congress then began to vote on health care bills like the 2015 version of repeal and other options like the Better Care Reconciliation Act. The Better Care Act was then voted down 43-57. Later, a partial repeal amendment was voted down 45-55. Next “a skinny repeal” (this essentially means that they would pass amendments to take away some aspects of the ACA, like the mandates, while leaving the rest in place) was voted down 49-51. With that in mind, a full repeal, a more robust repeal and replace plan, and a failure to pass any plan at all are all still on the table at this point. See how each Senator is voting.

An Update on the Repeal and Replace Vote

If you are curious about the vote on the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 (the repeal and replace bill); the answer is voting the first key vote took place July 25, 2017. That vote, which was 50-50 with the tie broke by Mike Pence, resulted in a “motion to proceed.”

The Senate then moved on to debate and vote on different approaches to the bill. These included:

• The Better Care Act which was voted down 43-57.
• The partial repeal which was voted down 45-55.
• And the Skinny repeal which was voted down by a narrow 49-51 with John McCain, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski casting the deciding votes (Democrats voted no on all of these measures).

NOTE: There were also some odd amendments voted on like a single payer amendment that most Democrats voted for. Only the major repeal and replace votes are noted above.

So far all votes have failed, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see the groundwork of a repeal pass in this session or in the future.

Despite the complex process, the ACA’s future remains uncertain.

We’ll update you as we know more.

1. Senate Considers ‘Skinny’ Repeal of Obamacare in Tuesday’s Voting
2. How each Senator is voting