The Washington Examiner is reporting that Ted Cruz’s proposed amendment to the Senate version of the healthcare bill is gaining some support, at least among conservatives. This development occurred when President Donald Trump tweeted that if the Senate could not manage to come to an agreement on the bill, it should just repeal Obamacare at once and then replace it at a later date.
What does Cruz’s bill do?
Cruz proposes that insurance companies be allowed to offer healthcare policies in individual markets that do not follow Obamacare regulations so long as they provide at least one that does.
The amendment would not only restore choice to the insurance markets, thus driving down the cost of health insurance for most people, but will preserve the option for individuals who find the provisions of Obamacare appealing to stay in that system. Cruz’s system is a hybrid of Free Market and government regulated health care insurance.
The disadvantage of the system is that sicker and older people with preexisting conditions will gravitate to the Obamacare-compliant policies, greatly increasing their cost. This situation will either require the government to provide some kind of premium support system or for insurance companies to eat the cost, confident that the free market policies will more than make up for it.
What is the state of the Senate health care bill now?
Right now, the senators have gone home for the 4th of July recess without having come to an agreement that will gain 50 votes for the Health Care Bill. However, they have not yet given up and are attempting to come to some kind of agreement so that a vote can take place when Congress reconvenes.
The prospect of either seeing the Obamacare system collapse or having to deal with recalcitrant Democrats is providing a sense of urgency for coming to an agreement.
Will the amendment help with an agreement?
The Cruz amendment is under active consideration by the Senate leadership. However, most conservatives now believe that something like it is crucial for allowing them to vote on the bill.
While the amendment does not address every concern that various senators have and has some funding problems, it is increasingly being seen as something that all sides can live with.
What happens now?
Presumably, when the Senate comes back from recess, it will make one last stab at passing a health care bill. If the GOP senators succeed, then the matter goes to conference to reconcile it with the House bill. The betting is that the final product will more resemble what came out of the Senate than the House.
