GOP health care bill fate could be decided this week

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has proposed phasing out higher federal payments for people who sign up for Medicaid under the health law's expansion in three years.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer of N.Y. speaks during a news conference about the Paris climate agreement, Wednesday, May 24, 2017, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

While the Senate parliamentarian's decision is pending, senators were told Tuesday in their working group meeting that prospects for a favorable decision didn't look good, according to Axios.

After weeks of discussions about health care in a small working group, Republican senators will get more clues Tuesday on where their leadership is heading as the conference seeks to repeal and replace Obamacare.

President Donald Trump met with Republican congressional leaders on Tuesday to rejuvenate efforts to overhaul the USA healthcare and tax systems as investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 election campaign weigh on his administration.In a White House meeting, Trump welcomed indications by senior Republicans that the Senate might vote on a healthcare bill in July, before it breaks for the summer, after the House of Representatives passed its own version in May."Now the Senate I'm sure will follow suit and get a bill across the finish line this summer that will be great healthcare and I'm looking forward to seeing it", Trump said.

Trump has not helped matters, lawmakers say, with his unfiltered tweets that often amplify and prolong story lines that a more disciplined leader would be able to quiet. But he said there was "more to be done" on the issue. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who has been one of the most vocal senators on health care policy, told reporters in between two of the GOP Senate gatherings. That plan spends all of the estimated revenue for next year and includes a supplemental budget, but the House refused to go along with the Senate version. Republicans must pass a bill by the end of the fiscal year in order to use the budget reconciliation process and also avoid a filibuster attempt by Democrats.

According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the House's AHCA would save $834 billion over the next ten years by cutting Obamacare's Medicaid expansion. But it would spend $50 million more than the House originally proposed. "On the other hand, I like the coverage and I know that's been instrumental in expanding coverage".

The White House acknowledged that the Russian Federation investigation had taken its toll.

Yet Sen. John Thune said Republicans might have to consider short-term fixes to Obamacare if they can't settle on a long-term replacement soon, since the markets are "waiting to see what's going to happen".

Several senators, including Sen. It means entire interviews are spent asking politicians about vote counts and deal-making instead of talking to actual health care experts. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said of the concepts discussed during the lunch. Chuck Grassley, and agreed to over 160 Republican amendments to the bill. Appearing on CNN in March, in response to a question about whether Medicaid expansion funding would be part of final legislation, Capito said, "It'd better be". Moderates want to protect beneficiaries through current ACA mandates, while conservative members want a full repeal.

"Republicans have been tied in a knot here in Washington".

Buffeted by criticism on many fronts, Trump wants faster action from his fellow Republicans who control Congress, pressing lawmakers to finish the job of dismantling the Obamacare health care law and move on quickly to another of his priorities: tax cuts. But Republican house leadership chose to make that decision on its own Tuesday, without input from the rest of the chamber.

But others say a more open process, including one that didn't rely on a procedural maneuver that will allow simple majority passage without any need to build bipartisan consensus with Democratic votes, would have been more productive.