The pending voting on the Senate Healthcare Bill hit an impasse on Saturday, July 15th, 2017. According to the New York Times, the new development unfolded after the Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell announced his decision to postpone the voting, initially scheduled for the coming week.
Sources suggest Senator John McCain's current medical condition as the main reason behind the announcement. The Washington Post, based on inputs from Mr. McCain's office, reported that the Republican Senator from Arizona is presently recovering from a surgical procedure that he underwent on Friday to treat a blood clot above his left eye, and, therefore, might be unavailable for debating on the critical healthcare legislation.
Mr. McCain's presence is crucial for Mr. McConnell to round up a decision on the bill. According to the Washington Post, the Senate is already divided 52-49 between the Democrats and Republicans with respect to the support and opposition surrounding the legislation. Further, the New York Times suggests that in order to move forward with the bill and decide passing it after repealing some major provisions made during the Obama regime, the Senate Republicans need to lap up 49 votes. For this, Mr. McCain's presence is indispensable.
John McCain's symbolic presence not likely to help the Republicans much
Even though the Republicans are counting on their senior savior Senate leader, his symbolic presence might not do much to help them.
Despite having the power to turn the voting figure in their favor, Senator John McCain opposes the Republican version of the health care bill. According to CNBC, the octogenarian military veteran turned politician is openly critical of the GOP health care legislation. Speaking on the CBS show "Face the Nation" last week, the senior Republican senator expressed his disenchantment over the pending legal amendment.
Mr. McCain opined that the Republicans' efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare are 'probably going to be dead.'
The reason behind Senator John McCain's apprehensions surrounding amendments to the bill is founded on monetary concerns. The new GOP bill would strip the landmark health insurance of its large funding component while keeping most of its provisions untouched.
As per John McCain, this would leave 20 million Americans in a precarious state.
The reincarnated version of the legislation would be devoid of Medicaid funding from 2025, making it an expensive government move for the general public.
