With the September 30 budget reconciliation deadline looming, Senate Republicans have been working hard to pass yet another attempt at repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Per the Congressional Budget Office’s preliminary report released yesterday (September 25), the Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson proposal would have slashed $1 trillion from Medicaid between now and 2026. Currently, 34 million non-elderly people of color rely on this program for their health care.
But, alas, the propsal is dead before even coming up for a vote. Here’s how it all went down, in five acts:
Act I: The Pitch
If Obamacare’s failure has shown us anything, it’s that we need new ideas & a better approach. That’s what #GrahamCassidy are pursuing now.
— Leader McConnell (@SenateMajLdr) September 25, 2017
Act II: The Protest
Latoya Maddox, 44, came from Philly for this. Said she was very nervous. Has a toddler with asthma who, like her, is on Medicaid pic.twitter.com/q5TggP4mi1
— Jeff Stein (@JStein_Vox) September 25, 2017
Act III: The Knockout
Graham brags that his bill would cut $1T from health care spending. But CBO finds millions would lose coverage as a result.
— CAP Action (@CAPAction) September 26, 2017
Act IV: The Opposition
Senator Collins opposes Graham-Cassidy health care bills https://t.co/nW6MFUvYVg pic.twitter.com/0DSxDJNMPp
— Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins) September 25, 2017
Act V: The Hard Goodbye
Breaking News: Mitch McConnell conceded defeat on the latest GOP plan to repeal Obamacare, scrapping a planned vote https://t.co/dfJ6rzpyeD
— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 26, 2017