On June 27, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell decided to postpone consideration of the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) until the week of July 10, at the earliest. This decision was made after five Republican Senators (Collins, Heller, Lee, Johnson, and Paul) indicated their intentions to oppose the motion to proceed, thus denying the Senate the opportunity to debate the Affordable Care Act (ACA) repeal legislation.
The legislation has faced headwinds since the House approved the American Health Care Act (AHCA) on May 4. Moderate Republicans have expressed concerns about the negative impact of the proposal on the access to affordable health care coverage, the Medicaid program, and the elimination of strongly supported consumer protections and market reforms. Conservative Republicans have largely opposed the proposal due to the fact that it is not a full repeal of the ACA. Conservative Senators typically refer to the BCRA as “Obamacare Light.” The release of the Congressional Budget Office analysis made the process more complicated.
While this action is significant, it should not be viewed as a definitive pivot on the part of the Senate Majority Leader or the majority party. The House went through an identical process prior to eventually approving the AHCA on May 4. Republican Senators spent the afternoon of June 27 at the White House meeting with President Trump and White House officials in discussions on a path forward.
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