Sen. Ron Johnson, one of the Republicans who authored an Obamacare overhaul bill, said Tuesday that he “certainly encourages” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to put the bill up for a vote even if it does not have the 50 votes it needs for passage.
“If we bring this up to the floor then I think every Republican senator would be in play,” the Wisconsin senator said. “Every Republican senator would face a binary choice.”
Johnson suggested that without a move toward an Obamacare overhaul, the country would instead move in the direction of a bill introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., called the Medicare for All Act, which would roll all Americans into Medicare, removing them from private plans and from Medicaid.
“The binary choice is a 100 percent guarantee that Obamacare remains in place and we remain on a path to single payer versus this choice of federalism,” he said.
The overhaul effort has been billed by its supporters as a move to reignite GOP efforts on healthcare. Along with Johnson, the bill was introduced by Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Dean Heller of Nevada. It shifts revenues from Obamacare to states in the form of block grants so they can craft their own healthcare systems, and repeals the individual and employer mandates.
Republicans have until Sept. 30 deadline to pass the bill through reconciliation to meet a recommendation from the Senate parliamentarian.
McConnell, R-Ky., has praised the group of senators for their work on the legislation and called their proposal an “intriguing idea.” The Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee are holding hearings on the overhaul bill next week. A detailed Congressional Budget Office score will not be available ahead of Sept. 30, but will publish preliminary findings.
Robert King contributed to this report.
