Senate moves to 'skinny repeal' of ObamaCare after repeal-only bill fails


On Wednesday, the Senate rejected a proposal to repeal ObamaCare without an immediate replacement, 45-55. Republican Sens. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), Susan Collins (Maine), Dean Heller (Nev.), John McCain (Ariz.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), and Rob Portman (Ohio) joined all Democrats in voting down the measure.
After rejecting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare on Tuesday, senators will now move on to a "skinny repeal" plan, which would scrap ObamaCare's individual and employer mandates as well as the medical device tax, but leave everything else in place. The proposal has the best chance of allowing Senate Republicans to pass a bill — any bill — which would allow them to move on to conference with the House, where they could assemble a more comprehensive repeal plan.
The "skinny repeal" plan could face a vote by the end of the week.
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Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
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