McConnell's new ACA repeal lacks GOP votes to pass

(Bloomberg) – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s new proposal to simply repeal the Affordable Care Act appears to already be dead, less than 24 hours after he dropped his replacement plan for lack of support among fellow Republicans.

GOP Senators Susan Collins, Shelley Moore Capito and Lisa Murkowski said Tuesday they’ll oppose a repeal of the Affordable Care Act. McConnell said late Monday the Senate would vote on a repeal with a two-year delay to give Congress time to agree on a replacement, but he could afford to lose no more than two Republican votes to advance the measure.

"We’ll let Obamacare fail" and then Democrats may want to agree on a replacement, President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House. "I am disappointed because for so many years I’ve been hearing repeal and replace."

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Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, arrives to a GOP meeting on healthcare at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, July 13, 2017. Senate Republican leaders presented a revised health-care plan to their party Thursday that would provide an added $70 billion to stabilize insurance exchanges over a decade in an effort to win over holdouts. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Repealing the law now and then hoping for a replacement "would create great anxiety for individuals who rely on the ACA," Collins of Maine told reporters in Washington. "I believe it would cause the insurance markets to go into turmoil." She said she would oppose bringing a repeal bill up for debate.

Capito of West Virginia said she would refuse to take up a repeal plan without an adequate replacement. "I did not come to Washington to hurt people," she said in a statement.

Murkowski of Alaska also said she wouldn’t vote to take up a repeal-alone measure.

"There’s enough chaos and uncertainty already and this would just contribute to it," Murkowski told reporters.

On Monday, opposition from four Republicans sank McConnell’s repeal and replacement legislation, which the majority leader drafted mostly in secret.

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