The Senate already voted down two health plans. Debate on others continue on Thursday.
The Senate is in its third day of a debate to reshape the US healthcare system.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer ended the day Wednesday by calling the healthcare debate a "sham," pointing to the issue that it's not clear what bill will ultimately be voted on. Schumer said Democrats won't offer up any more amendments until they see the final product.
"We don't even have a final bill to amend," Schumer said.
The debate has begun to shift toward a "skinny repeal" bill, which would repeal certain aspects of the ACA. If passed, it could lead to the House and Senate working together to compromise on one final bill.
The debate began earlier Tuesday, and the Senate has 20 hours of legislative time to debate, and about 10 have been used in the first two days. The time's split equally between Democrats and Republicans. Once that concludes, the Senate will then go into a "vote-a-rama" in which an unlimited number of amendments can be proposed to bed added onto the bill.
We'll be updating this post as the debate continues.
9:50 p.m. - Senate passes Heller amendment.
Heller's amendment repeals the "Cadillac tax" places a tax on high-end healthcare plans in an attempt to keep healthcare spending lower.
It's the first successful vote the Senate's had since it started its 20 hours of debate on Tuesday.
9 p.m. - Senate votes down a motion to send the bill back to the Finance Committee.
Senator Chuck Schumer's motion to commit failed, with 57 voting against and 43 voting in favor.
7:45 p.m. Senator Dean Heller introduces amendment to repeal "Cadillac tax."
Senator Dean Heller of Nevada, who has been a key vote on the Senate healthcare plan, on Thursday introduced an amendment that would repeal the ACA's "Cadillac Tax." The "Cadillac tax" places a tax on high-end healthcare plans in an attempt to keep healthcare spending lower.
The vote, along with a motion to commit from Senator Chuck Schumer, is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.
7:30 p.m. House Speaker Paul Ryan says he's willing to go to conference on the healthcare bill.
On Thursday, Ryan commented on whether the House would take the skinny repeal bill to conference if it passes the Senate.
"If moving forward requires a conference committee, that is something the House is willing to do," Ryan said.
Whether that will be enough to sway some senators to vote for the bill remains to be seen.
6:45 p.m. - Senate Republicans start pushing for "skinny repeal."
Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma spoke in favor of passing a "skinny" version of the GOP healthcare plan.
That happened shortly after four Republican senators said they demand assurances that the healthcare bill be taken to conference by the House should the Senate pass it.
"I am not going to vote for the skinny bill if I'm not assured by the House there will be a conference where my idea and other ideas will be taken up so we can actually repeal Obamacare," Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said in a press conference Thursday with Senators John McCain, Ron Johnson, and Bill Cassidy.
5:40 p.m. - Senate votes down stability funding amendment.
The amendment from Senator Luther Strange didn't pass, with 50 voting for the amendment and 50 voting against. It needed 60 to pass.
5 p.m. - Senate votes on stability funding amendment.
Senator Luther Strange of Alabama introduced an amendment that would change the stability funding in the Better Care Reconciliation Act to provide more premium assistance for low-income individuals. It would need 60 votes to pass.
Senators will also be voting on a sanctions amendment unrelated to healthcare.
3:00 p.m. - Senate votes down single-payer health plan.
The plan, proposed as an amendment to the House bill by Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, was called the Expanded & Improved Medicare For All Act. It was overwhelmingly voted down, with the 57 voting "no" and many Democrats choosing to vote "present." There wasn't a single "yes" vote.
Before the vote, Sanders taunted Daines, saying that he'd be on board if the Republican senator could convince a few more members of his party to vote for the bill.
12 p.m. - Senator Bernie Sanders calls Daines amendment an 'old political trick'.
During debate on Thursday, Sanders addressed the upcoming Daines amendment, which would introduce a "Medicare for All" healthcare plan.
"I hope that this is really a breakthrough," Sanders said of the bill, which was introduced by Republican Senator Steve Daines. But, he said, he suspects it's just an "old political trick" inserted a mid a serious debate about healthcare.
"I think this is not a time for political games," Sanders said.
Sanders has been a proponent of "Medicare for All," but isn't buying into Daines' plan to expose which members of the Democratic caucus might be in favor of a single-payer healthcare system.
10 a.m. - Debate opens for the day, with a vote on single-payer healthcare coming this afternoon.
The plan, introduced as an amendment to the House bill by Republican Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, is titled the "Expanded & Improved Medicare For All Act."
The amendment would set up a universal healthcare system in which all Americans would be covered through Medicare, the federal government's health program that currently covers all adults who are at least 65 years old.
But the vote, which is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. on Thursday, isn't expected to pass. Daines doesn't even support it. The intention is to try to expose which senators would vote in favor of a single-payer system.
The Senate already voted down two health plans. Debate on others continue on Thursday. Read Full Story
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