More than half a dozen Republican and Democratic senators have discussed alternatives to the embattled GOP health-care bill, even as Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he plans a vote next week to muscle the Obamacare repeal measure through the Senate.
Talks about a bipartisan fallback are based on the idea that Obamacare insurance markets have problems and would need to be fixed if the health-care bill dies. For Democrats, it would avert a repeal of a signature achievement that they admit needs improvement. For some GOP moderates, it would be a concrete act that would help their constituents amid a maelstrom of partisan bickering.
The main ideas involve creating a reinsurance fund and authorizing cost-sharing payments for insurers so they don’t have to raise prices for covering a sicker pool of customers.
“We don’t agree with Obamacare, but recognize the fact that these markets are collapsing; insurance companies need it to provide the certainty of how they’re going to price the 2018 premiums,” said Senator Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican.
Congress should "bite the bullet and stabilize those markets," Johnson said. There is substantial Republican support for that idea -- the original McConnell health-care bill included $50 billion in insurer funds to stabilize markets and reduce premiums.
Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said Tuesday he’ll release an outline of an alternative health-care plan this week. He said he’s seeking support from governors and senators of both parties.
Seeking ‘Stabilization’
Senator Susan Collins, a moderate Republican from Maine, said she’s spoken with Graham many times, and also has been talking with about a half-dozen Democrats who want a compromise with Republicans.
"Anyone who has looked at the state of the individual and small-group markets across this country knows that doing nothing is not an option," Collins said.
One Democrat who said he has spoken with Collins about a bipartisan way forward is Bill Nelson of Florida. He, too, endorsed the idea of a stability fund to bolster the Obamacare marketplaces, and key Republicans said they expect to see it in a Plan B.