Montana senators respond to latest health-care bill
In the hours after the U.S. Senate released its latest attempt to wipe away the nation’s current health law, Montana’s senators stood where they had before: One undecided and the other adamantly opposed.
On Thursday, Senate Republicans released the revised version of the Better Care Reconciliation Act, their plan following a seven-year promise to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.
To survive, the health bill needs to collect 50 votes from the 52 GOP senators. Two Republican senators, Maine Sen. Susan Collins and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, have already said they would vote against the bill moving forward.
As the nation works to tally lawmakers’ position on the bill to see whether it stands a chance, Montana’s Republican Sen. Steve Daines’ vote remains unknown.
“Senator Daines is currently reading the bill while waiting for additional analysis on the bill and listening to Montanans,” a Daines’ spokesperson wrote in an email Thursday afternoon.
Daines has yet to take a stance on the various versions of health reform his party has brought forth since the Senate picked up the difficult task in May.
Montana’s Democratic Sen. Jon Tester reiterated his belief that the GOP bill would be disastrous for Montanans after the newest attempt was released Thursday.
“This pig got more lipstick, but it still smells like a pigpen,” Tester wrote in a statement.
He said the plan would rip away coverage from thousands of Montanans and allow insurers to deny people with pre-existing conditions coverage.
The GOP’s current bill would allow insurers to offer health plans that don’t comply with standards in the Affordable Care Act under certain conditions.
Like the previous bill, the new bill would make large cuts to Medicaid, cap payments to states and roll back its expansion under the Affordable Care Act.
In Montana, more than 77,000 people had enrolled in the state’s expansion as of May.
Previous versions of the Senate’s reform plan could cost Montana’s Medicaid program up to $5.3 billion in federal funding between 2020 and 2026. That’s according to a series of reports by Manatt Health that the Montana Healthcare Foundation commissioned.
“Congress needs to work together to address rising premiums and deductibles, and when they are ready to work in a bipartisan manner, I’ll be waiting at the table,” Tester said.
Reporter Katheryn Houghton may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at khoughton@dailyinterlake.com.