Senate Republicans say they would like Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) to appoint a successor to the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) who, unlike McCain, would support GOP legislation to repeal ObamaCare.
Republican lawmakers say they won’t have time to hold another vote to repeal the law in 2018 but vow to try again next year if they manage to keep their Senate and House majorities.
“If we re-engage in that discussion in some point in the future, it would be nice to have members who enable us to pass it,” Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Thune (S.D.) said when asked about the possibility of ObamaCare repeal legislation coming up for a future vote.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said he hopes the next senator from Arizona will be a “strong ally” who “recognizes that ObamaCare is not a proper solution.”
“It hasn’t worked. It’s created a lot of harm and damage to real people,” he added. – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]Insurance companies waiting for $10.4 billion they were expecting from the federal government thanks to Obamacare will have to wait a little longer, now that the Trump administration has stopped the so-called “risk adjustment payments.”
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Saturday that it was halting the payments, Reuters reported.
The payments are designed to compensate insurance companies that took on consumers with costlier health care problems during 2017. The money comes from companies that insured healthier Americans.
CMS Administrator Seema Verma said in a statement that the payments were stopped because a New Mexico court ruling said the formula for allocating payments was flawed.
The action drew howls of protest.
“Risk adjustment is a mandatory program under federal law,” said Scott Serota, president of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, according to The Washington Post. – READ MORE
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