Million Americans Retain Healthcare As All Three Senate Repeal Attempts Fail

"The fact that we're nearly back to ground zero on repeal and replace is disheartening because we have a Republican president, a Republican House, a Republican Senate", said former Arizona GOP Chairman Robert Graham, a Trump ally who is considering primarying Sen. According to the Congressional Budget Office, enacting the bill would have meant 16 million fewer insured people over the next 10 years. She also asked House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., to allow lawmakers in committee to discuss potential reforms to improve US healthcare. "The so-called "skinny repeal" amendment the Senate voted on today would not accomplish those goals", McCain said in a statement released after the vote.

The skinny repeal bill was significantly scaled back compared to the earlier efforts.

Labor unions have been vocal critics of the efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. "I said you can take the hand away, OK?"

Trump's remarks Friday were centered around efforts to "dismantle, decimate, and eradicate" the MS-13 gang, known for its violence in Suffolk County, New York, as well as other areas. In April, he threatened to end the payments if Democrats refused to negotiate over the healthcare bill.

What McConnell gave the Senate was an eight-page bill called the Health Care Freedom Act.

Trump in an early morning tweet reacted to the Senate vote, writing "3 Republicans and 48 Democrats let the American people down".

"Kevin Lewis, a spokesman for Obama, said in a statement Friday, "[The Affordable Care Act] is about the dreams protected, and the untold misery and ruin prevented.

"Republican Senate must get rid of 60 vote NOW!" Calls from the President and pressure from his colleagues all failed to move him to a vote in favor of limited repeal without any plan for a replacement bill. That 60-vote threshold didn't come into play on health care because Republicans were working under budget reconciliation rules that require just a 51-vote majority.

Chuck Schumer (D) NY, says "We are relieved that millions and millions of people who would have been so drastically hurt will at least retain their healthcare".

"We worked really hard to try to develop a consensus for a better way forward", Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said during a speech on the Senate floor after the vote.

It was either the middle of the night or pretty late at night when the 49-51 vote on the Skinny Repeal bill was final. Collins and Murkowski had always been vocal about their disapproval to the repeal measures with Collins adamantly opposing against any provision that prohibited Medicaid funds from going to Planned Parenthood, which the final bill did propose.

The Kentucky lawmaker added: "It's time to move on".

The Alabama Republican said Friday on CNN that McConnell should press the Senate to pass a rewrite of President Barack Obama's signature law - or step aside.

"What he's saying is, look, if Obamacare is hurting the American people - and it is - then why shouldn't it hurt insurance companies and more importantly, perhaps for this discussion, members of Congress?" "The respect for Jeff Sessions is so great that I'm sure if President Trump were to fire Jeff Sessions or embarrass Jeff Sessions into quitting, that a lot of President Trump voters, particularly in the primary, will have mixed feelings about what is going on", Brooks said.

The subsidies are estimated at $7 billion a year and help reduce costs such as deductibles for people with low incomes.