Senate Democrats have introduced a resolution that would reverse Trump administration healthcare guidance and put pressure on vulnerable Republicans over whether they support Obamacare’s protections for pre-existing conditions.
Democrats are advancing the resolution through the Congressional Review Act, which provides for a floor vote without the permission of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The bill would need a simple majority to pass but could still be vetoed by President Trump.
“Many of my Republican colleagues said they are for protecting people with pre-existing conditions,” said Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, who led the resolution. “Well, with this CRA vote there is a chance for them to prove whether they actually support continuing those protections.”
The vote will happen sometime within 60 days of July 15. Senators need to gather 30 signatures for a discharge petition in order to bring it up to the floor. Collecting the signatures should be attainable given that all 47 Democrats in the Senate support the resolution.
The resolution would reverse guidance that the Trump administration put out about “innovation waivers” in Obamacare. The waivers, also known as “1332 waivers” for the relevant section of the law, were included in Obamacare so that states could design their own healthcare plans.
Most states that have used the waiver have used it to implement reinsurance funds, which inject federal dollars into health insurance marketplaces and lower premiums. States generally have found the innovation waivers to be inflexible because under Obamacare they must meet very specific requirements, so the Trump administration offered a menu of options in October as a way to give states ideas. It’s not clear, however, that states are working toward filing waivers to avail themselves of the options the Trump administration provided.
The specific option Democrats have taken issue with would let Obamacare customers use their premiums to buy short-term health insurance, which is less expensive than Obamacare but doesn’t have to cover medical care for a pre-existing condition, such as diabetes or cancer, and can exclude coverage for maternity care and mental health. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the Democrat who wrote the waiver language in Obamacare, told reporters Wednesday that the plans amounted to “junk” insurance.
“They blatantly are misusing the rule,” he said.
