Republicans face the unlikely prospect of passing a new healthcare bill by this coming Saturday. Last night, key Republicans announced their opposition to the Graham-Cassidy bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
On CNN U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar took part in a live town hall style debate on the Graham Cassidy Health Care Bill and said the legislation would take us backwards. Klobuchar says the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office released information Monday showing millions of Americans would lose health coverage under the proposed bill and it would increase insurance premiums for people with preexisting conditions. Klobuchar says the best way to move forward is for Congress to work together on a bipartisan solution. Also taking part in last night’s debate, Senators Sanders an Independent and Republicans Graham and Cassidy.
Meanwhile, Governor Dayton is joining the chorus of Democrats who oppose the GOP-backed Graham-Cassidy bill to repeal and replace Obamacare. Dayton is against proposed cuts to Medicaid and calls the bill “a sham that the Congress is trying to perpetrate on states and on the people they represent is to say we’re going to give you block grants starting in 2020, we’re going to give you a limited amount of money not sufficient to meet the growing needs and then you get to decide where to make the terrible cuts.” Dayton says one out of every three Minnesotans benefit from Medicaid. Republican leaders in Washington say the Affordable Care Act is not sustainable and must be replaced to drive healthcare costs down.