New Obamacare repeal lacks McCain support, despite Ducey, Flake approval

PHOENIX — Two months after a single vote from Sen. John McCain tanked the fight to repeal Obamacare, another repeal bill has quietly gained traction among Senate Republicans — but the Arizona senator is still on the fence about the issue.

McCain told reporters on Monday that he is not “supportive of the bill yet,” according to Politico, but added that he wanted to “talk more about it” with his fellow Republicans before the Sept. 30 deadline to repeal the healthcare bill with a simple majority Senate vote.

The latest Obamacare repeal effort is being led by Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina — one of McCain’s closest friends in the Senate.

The 140-page bill would end the Medicaid expansion part of Obama’s law that has added about 400,000 Arizonans to the state’s health insurance program for the poor. It would also replace that and tax subsidies that help lower-income people buy private insurance with block grants to states.

The program has gained the support of Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who McCain looked to for guidance on how to vote for a different Obamacare repeal bill back in July. Ducey had told McCain to vote yes on the effort, but McCain voted no anyway.

In a statement released on Monday, Ducey said the proposal is the “best path forward to repeal and replace Obamacare” and that he will work with Congress and the Trump administration to “give states more flexibility and more options moving forward.”

My statement on #GrahamCassidy #RepealAndReplace pic.twitter.com/oJHqOiR688

— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) September 18, 2017

CNN reporter Phil Mattingly tweeted on Monday that McCain said the support from Ducey is “helpful” but he doesn’t feel “‘inclined’ to support it,” adding that the senator is still “very frustrated with [the] process” and wants the bill to move through “regular order.”

McCain tells me Ducey support is helpful, but doesn't mean he's "inclined" to support it. Still very frustrated with process

— Phil Mattingly (@Phil_Mattingly) September 18, 2017

McCain: bill should still go through committee
Me: "seems like floor is the only option."
McCain: "What do you mean it's the only option?"

— Phil Mattingly (@Phil_Mattingly) September 18, 2017

Sen. Jeff Flake, the junior senator from Arizona, tweeted on Sunday that the proposal “has [his] support” and that it “ought to be brought to the Senate floor.

#GrahamCassidy plan to #RepealAndReplace #Obamacare has my support. It ought to be brought to the senate floor

— Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) September 18, 2017

However, many Arizona lawmakers are anxious about how the bill could affect the state’s economy.

Arizona would lose big under #GrahamCassidy & @JeffFlake & @SenJohnMcCain have both indicated they could support it. You know what to do. 📞

— Ruben Gallego (@RepRubenGallego) September 18, 2017

The Congressional Budget Office announced Monday that there would not be a full review on the bill’s effects until after the vote deadline, but the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimated that Arizona would lose $1.6 billion in federal funding under the new bill.

Senate Republicans feeling confident

A victory would let Trump and Republican leaders claim redemption on their “repeal and replace” effort. While the House approved its version of the bill in May, the drive collapsed when the GOP-led Senate defeated three proposals for scrapping Obama’s 2010 overhaul in July.

“This bill would keep our promise to the American people, and finally give us the health care we all deserve,” Cassidy told supporters Monday in an email.

Senate leaders have no desire to lose yet another health care vote. After July’s embarrassing Senate setback, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he’d not revisit it unless he was assured he had the votes to succeed, and many Republicans began refocusing on another big GOP priority, a tax overhaul.

Now, Graham and Cassidy said they believe they have close to 50 votes for the plan — despite several key senators still holding out — prompting GOP leaders to check if they can finally succeed.

Where GOP stands on Graham-Cassidy

Murkowski: 🤔
Portman: 🤔
Gardner: 🤔
McCain: 🤔
Collins: 🤔
Capito: 🤔
Paul: ❌

3 GOPers saying ❌ stops bill.

— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) September 18, 2017

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