Senate GOP Advances Heath Care Bill(s) to DebateThey dona t know what…

In recent days, John McCain was diagnosed with brain cancer ; Rand Paul savaged his party's health-care plan as " crony capitalism "; and Nevada's Dean Heller - the GOP's most vulnerable Senator in 2018 - denounced the bill's Medicaid cuts , while arguing that it wouldn't do anything to lower premiums. But on Tuesday, John McCain got back to town - and Paul and Heller got onboard.

Louisiana’s US senators support start of health care debate

Louisiana's two U.S. senators were among the Republicans who agreed to start debating legislation to undo much of Barack Obama's health care law. The votes Tuesday from Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy helped Republicans reach the 50 votes - with Vice President Mike Pence as the tiebreaker - needed to move ahead with a weeklong debate and a long list of amendments.

Senate GOP Agrees to Debate Health Plan With No Votes to Spare

Senate Republicans agreed to begin floor debate on health-care legislation, a hard-fought step amid uncertainty about exactly what plan senators will ultimately be asked to vote on. The drama of Tuesday's 51-50 vote -- with Vice President Mike Pence providing the tie-breaker -- was heightened by the arrival from Arizona of Senator John McCain to help the GOP try to repeal Obamacare following his brain-cancer diagnosis last week.

Vice President Mike Pence and others listen as President Donald Trump …

President Donald Trump urged Republicans to "step up to the plate" for Tuesday's crucial Senate vote on their bill eviscerating much of the Obama health care law. The stage was set for high drama, with Sen. John McCain returning to the Capitol to cast his first vote since being diagnosed with brain cancer.

John Boehner says Republicans are ‘never’ going to pass health care

John Boehner didn't mince words about the chances his former Republican colleagues will pass some sort of repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act. "Here we are, seven months into this year, and yet they've not passed this bill," Boehner told a private audience in Las Vegas last week, according to video footage obtained by The Washington Post.

RPT-U.S. Senate healthcare holdout Collins never got call from Trump

President Donald Trump exhorted every Republican to vote yes on a healthcare overhaul when it comes before the Senate this week, but one of his party's most vocal opponents of the bill, Senator Susan Collins, said he had made no effort to reach her. "The Democrats aren't giving us one vote, so we need virtually every single vote from the Republicans, not easy to do," Trump declared Monday in the White House, appearing with families he said had been harmed by Obamacare.

Trump pleads with Republicans to roll back Obamacare

President Donald Trump made a last-ditch plea to U.S. Senate Republicans on Monday to "do the right thing" and fulfill seven years of campaign promises to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law. The Senate will vote on Tuesday on whether to open debate on an overhaul of the law, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promising an open amendment process and a "robust" debate.

How California can save a Obamacarea

Hell hath no fury like a president scorned. And with the embarrassing collapse of the GOP-controlled Senate's plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, many health care experts predict that Donald Trump and his administration will do whatever it takes to “let Obamacare fail,” as the president put it last week.

Report: Higher premiums if Trump halts Obamacare subsidies NEW

Premiums for a popular type of individual health plan would rise sharply, and more people would be left with no insurance options if President Donald Trump makes good on his threat to stop Obamacare payments to insurers, the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday. The nonpartisan number crunchers also estimated that cutting off payments that now reduce copays and deductibles for people of modest incomes would add $194 billion to federal deficits over a decade.

Ahead of key vote, details of GOP health bill still unknown

The Senate will move forward with a key vote this week on a Republican health care bill but it's not yet known whether the legislation will seek to replace the Affordable Care Act or simply repeal it, the third-highest ranking Republican senator said Sunday. Sen. John Thune of South Dakota said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., will make a decision soon on which bill to bring up for a vote, depending on ongoing discussions with GOP senators.