WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats on Wednesday failed to overturn a Trump administration policy that allows states to ignore some requirements of the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act.
Democrats forced the creation of the Senate tiered voting on resolution that aimed to unravel the Trump administration’s controversial health care regulations. Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins was the only Republican to vote for the resolution, which was defeated on a 43-52 vote.
U.S. Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania voted for the bill, while Republican Senator Pat Toomey voted against, – showed the official appeal of the Senate.
“Once again, my Republican colleagues are not standing up for health insurance for people with pre-existing conditions,” Casey wrote on Twitter. “The Republican Party’s maniacal obsession with sabotaging and weakening the ACA will threaten the health care of millions of Americans.”
Once again, my Republican colleagues are not standing up for health insurance for people with pre-existing conditions. The GOP’s maniacal obsession with sabotaging and weakening the ACA will threaten the health care of millions of Americans.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) October 30, 2019
The effort was considered symbolic given that he had virtually no chance of winning the support of the GOP-controlled Senate and White House. Senate Democrats said it was an opportunity to expose their colleagues who supported a Trump administration rule that would weaken health care protections.
The policy in question allows states to bypass some requirements of the Affordable Care Act. It would allow states, for example, to apply federal funds to subsidize certain short-term insurance plans with confined coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, New York Times reported last year when this policy was introduced.
Democrats in Congress are complaining about Trump administration policies that allow the proliferation of “junk” insurance plans that do not provide the comprehensive protections afforded by sweeping health care law.
“The administration has worked to make it easier for states to use taxpayer dollars to subsidize junk insurance plans, many of which do not cover basic benefits like maternity care, preventive screenings and mental health care,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said before by vote. “These junk plans put families at risk and are nothing short of a boon to insurance companies.”
Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, the resolution’s lead sponsor, said before the vote: “The Trump administration’s management is not a good-faith effort to cut costs or stimulate innovation. This is a direct attempt to undermine the stability of the insurance market and an attack on the feasibility of protecting Americans with pre-existing conditions.”
Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin portrayed the rule as the administration’s latest attack on Americans with pre-existing health conditions.
“I ask my friends across the aisle to think about this for a moment,” she said. “President Trump supports repealing laws that provide protections for people with pre-existing conditions, while advancing these junk plans that provide no such protections.”
The Trump administration argued in federal court that the entire Affordable Care Act should be repealed.
Stewart Boss, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), said in a statement after the vote: “Senate Republicans are once again showing why they are unreliable when it comes to protecting their constituents’ health care. By supporting these junk plans, vulnerable GOP officials are recklessly exposing their constituents to higher costs, unreliable care and weaker protections for key benefits like insurance for pre-existing conditions and maternity care.”
Five Democrats running for the 2020 presidential nomination did not participate in Wednesday’s vote: Sens. Michael Bennet of Colorado; Cory Booker of New Jersey; Kamala Harris of California; Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
Republicans defended the policy change under the up-to-date rule, arguing it gives states more flexibility.
“Our Democratic colleagues want to roll back Trump administration guidance and limit state flexibility,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, D-Ky., said Wednesday. He called it “another exercise in political messaging with no opportunity to make an impact.”
Capital-Star Editor John L. Micek contributed to this story.
