Group protests health care bill proposal in downtown Chicago

Senate Republicans have finally unveiled a draft of their Obamacare replacement bill, which Democrats were quick to condemn.

"It's going to be very good", Trump said at the White House.

But Cassidy said he remained "undecided" about the bill.

The Senate would end the tax penalties Obama's law created for people not buying insurance and larger employers not offering coverage to workers.

Pearson said those subsidies will be smaller than under current law.

McConnell may have a tough job convincing enough Republican senators that the Senate bill improves on the House version. "Because Obamacare is a direct attack on the middle class, and American families deserve better than its failing status quo". They said GOP characterizations of the law as failing are wrong and said the Republican plan would boot millions off coverage and leave others facing higher out-of-pocket costs.

"One of the reasons for us putting our statement forward is, now that it is known that there are not 50 votes for this, I hope that those who are writing the bill, who have written the bill, will negotiate", Paul said. It called the version passed by the House last month "a categorical failure" and said the Senate version is "equally troubling". The other three senators are Mike Lee of Utah, Ted Cruz of Texas and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin. This could be an issue for Republican senators Susan Collins of ME and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. And Susan Collins of ME reiterated her opposition to language blocking federal money for Planned Parenthood, which many Republicans oppose because it provides abortions.

Mast said public attention has been more focused on what the bill would mean for people with pre-existing medical conditions in the individual insurance market.

Obama was more than skeptical.

"If there's a chance you might get sick, get old or start a family, this bill will do you harm", he wrote. He said "small tweaks" during the upcoming debate "cannot change the fundamental meanness at the core of this legislation". Trump has since called it "mean", despite celebrating it at the Rose Garden with House Republicans.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the House bill would kick 23 million people off their healthcare plans. The budget office analysis of the Senate measure is expected early next week.

Schumer went on to draw comparisons between what Obamacare offered and what the new bill by the Senate offered.

Paul also takes issue with Medicaid under the new Senate bill because of his home state's experience, saying it was dishonest to tell people that the federal government would fund Medicaid expansion under Obamacare and then have the states bear part of the burden. The Senate proposal would essentially eliminate the expansion by gradually reducing the extra federal funding provided for it until it is entirely eliminated in 2024.

Prior to Thursday, several Republican senators, including Sen. Unlimited federal dollars now flow to each state for the program, covering all eligible beneficiaries and services.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi assails the GOP bill as a tax break for wealthy Americans.

"When legislation does come to the floor, it will present Senate Democrats with another opportunity to do what's right for the American people", McConnell continued.

Paul was one of four conservative senators who quickly announced Thursday they'll oppose the bill in its current form.

Note: This will be updated as we make our way through the text of the bill. The so-called individual mandate — aimed at keeping insurance markets solvent by prompting younger, healthier people to buy policies — has always been one of the GOP's favorite targets. Like the House bill, the Senate plan would repeal or delay many of those tax boosts.

Obamacare greatly expanded Medicaid and mostly paid for it, allowing states that accepted the funding to provide coverage to millions of low-income Americans who couldn't afford it before.