Up till Friday, the Arizona Republican was among several Republican senators who may have swung the vote in favor of the policy, which would have reversed key aspects of the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) and shifted Medicaid funding in a manner that could have left untold numbers of Americans without insurance. Most Senate Republicans weren't too concerned about how many, though, and thus didn't bother waiting for an estimate of just how screwed a solid chunk of the American populous would be.
In a press release announcing his position on the bill, McCain cited a dire need for Republicans and Democrats to work together to craft a bill on which everyone can agree, not just Republicans who wish to demolish a key accomplishment of the Obama administration just 'cuz. Oh, and the fact Republican leadership was trying to ram the thing through with little debate and before the Congressional Budget Office could finish an analysis of the bill and its impacts on Americans.
"Committees of jurisdiction should mark up legislation with input from all committee members, and send their bill to the floor for debate and amendment," he stated in the release. "That is the only way we might achieve bipartisan consensus on lasting reform, without which a policy that affects one-fifth of our economy and every single American family will be subject to reversal with every change of administration and congressional majority.
It's possible his "no" vote could torpedo what could be the GOP Congress's last attempt at repeal this year.
Of the three remaining question marks on the Republican side (all Dems are, of course, voting against it), there only need to be two more Republican "no" votes. The three as-yet undecided Republicans are Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Rand Paul (Kentucky). Paul is likeliest to vote it down, but only because it doesn't go far enough in depriving millions of Americans of access to healthcare.
CBO analysis of past failed efforts to repeal Obamacare found that tens of millions of Americans could have potentially lost their healthcare. And since there are apparently lots and lots of people who passionately disagree with Republicans' assertion that this should happen, McCain said he's reluctant to back such a policy without discussion.
“I cannot in good conscience vote for the Graham-Cassidy proposal," McCain said in his statement. "I believe we could do better working together, Republicans and Democrats, and have not yet really tried. Nor could I support it without knowing how much it will cost, how it will affect insurance premiums, and how many people will be helped or hurt by it. Without a full CBO score, which won’t be available by the end of the month, we won’t have reliable answers to any of those questions."
The deadline for a vote is Sept. 30.
This article appears in Sep 21-28, 2017.
