Here’s what you should know:
1. President Donald Trump’s administration and Mr. Ryan prefer for the ACA to be repealed.
2. The Republicans failed to repeal the ACA twice already. Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., introduced another ACA repeal bill last week. Ryan, the White House and Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., all support the bill.
3. Politico reports the Senate will vote on the bill next week. Republican insiders believe it can pass.
4. Senate Health Committee leader Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said Republicans stopped working on the bipartisan bill because of a lack of agreement between parties. However, Senate democrats said Republican leadership made the decision to kill the bill.
5. Vice President Mike Pence said the Trump administration is attempting to rally Republican Senators to pass an ACA repeal. He said the White House is attempting to deliver the following message on the repeal, “This is the moment. Now is the time.”
6. The Republicans have to pass an ACA repeal before Sept. 30 to fit into the window of their budget reconciliation measure. The measure allows for a bill to pass by simple majority.
7. Mr. Graham suggested that Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., may support the bill. Mr. McCain was opposed to the party’s last attempt. Mr. McCain offered no comment on the subject.
8. Despite party support, a bipartisan group of governors are in opposition to the bill. This group includes Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, I, Ohio Governor John Kasich, R, and Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, R. The governors sent a letter to the Senate asking it to concentrate on the bipartisan approach.
9. The American Medical Association released a statement against the bill, as did Colon Cancer Alliance CEO Michael Sapienza.
Mr. Sapienza criticized the bill on multiple levels. He said in a release, “Allowing insurers to charge patients with cancer histories higher premiums is precisely the opposite of what we should be doing, and for that reason the Colon Cancer Alliance, along with more than 35 other cancer groups, strongly opposes this amendment while urging the Senate to not consider it.”
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