Advertisement

Update, 9:50 p.m.: Mitch McConnell just introduced the full text of the bill, called the Health Care Freedom Act. The bill includes much of what Axios reported earlier today, including repealing the individual and employer mandates and defunding Planned Parenthood for a year (the bill prohibits funding for “community providers” that provide abortion with exceptions for rape, incest or “danger of death”). It also repeals the medical device tax and increases tax-free contribution limits for Health Savings Accounts. In addition, it keeps the 1332 waivers allowing states to potentially opt-out of many of the Obamacare requirements (this section was rewritten so it now passes the Senate parliamentarian’s rules). This bill is practically a full repeal of Obamacare. If there’s a silver lining, it’s barely visible, but the extensive Medicaid cuts that were in the BCRA are absent here—that, of course, could change once the bill goes back to the House. The Senate will vote at midnight.

Advertisement

Update, 11:05 p.m.: The Congressional Budget Office’s score is out. According to the CBO, the Health Care Freedom Act would leave 16 million more uninsured by 2026.

Update: The bill has failed to pass the Senate. Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, and John McCain diverged from their party and voted “no” on the bill.