After several hours of debate following a successful motion to proceed vote earlier today, the Senate just voted on a version of the Better Care Reconciliation Act that included Senator Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) Consumer Freedom Amendment, as well as $100 billion in additional Medicaid funding. (Actually, what the Senate technically voted on was the procedural question of whether the Cruz amendment complies with Senate rules and should be taken up, but the effect is clear.) The procedural measure, which required 60 votes to pass, failed, which means that the Better Care Reconciliation Act is, for now, dead.
All Democrats voted against the measure, as well as nine Republican senators: Susan Collins (R-Maine), Bob Corker (R-Tennessee), Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), Dean Heller (R-Nevada), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Rand Paul (R-Kentucky).
The Senate is now in recess until tomorrow, when it’s expected to vote on a clean Affordable Care Act repeal bill, and to debate on a variety of amendments, likely including a “skinny” repeal bill.
