Just two days after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the upper chamber would move to repeal Obamacare without an immediately replacement, Senate Republicans on Wednesday said a vote on repeal-and-replace legislation is being considered again. McConnell previously said the Senate would vote next week on the 2015 repeal-only legislation, but on Wednesday he appeared to change his tune. Speaking at the White House after a Senate GOP meeting with President Trump, McConnell said “we could have a vote on either” a straight repeal or repeal-and-replace, but he would prefer the latter. McConnell’s rank-and-file confirmed that the Better Care Reconciliation Act, which accomplishes both goals, could be back on the table. Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV), who expressed concerns about the BCRA’s Medicaid cuts, told reporters that reviving the BCRA is “part of the discussion.” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) told The Daily Beast that repeal-only legislation means “we’re still in the same place” in terms of health care reform. Johnson said it was his understanding based on the meeting that the president prefers a repeal-and-replace vote. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) said he’s “more optimistic” that a version of the BCRA could come to a vote next week.
—Andrew Desiderio
