The Senate GOP Released Their Disastrous Bill. What Comes Next?

After nearly a month of closed-door meetings, Sen. Mitch McConnell and his exclusively male health care working group have released their disastrous Affordable Care Act repeal. This harmful piece of legislation would “defund” Planned Parenthood, decimate Medicare, and take away health insurance from millions of Americans.

And now that McConnell has revealed his secret legislation—which was written without a single hearing —he will try to ram it through the Senate as quickly as possible. Here’s what you need to know about what comes next for Trumpcare.

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1) The disturbing CBO report tells us what we’re all already thinking

The destructive impact of Trumpcare on the American people just became even more clear. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) published a shocking report analyzing the proposed bill’s real-world effects. The CBO is a strictly nonpartisan government agency that provides economic information to Congress.

The CBO reported that the Senate bill would lead to an immediate 15 million more Americans uninsured next year compared with current law. And there's more: the CBO also reported that 22 million more Americans would be uninsured by 2026.

The Senate version of Trumpcare closely mirrors the House version, which passed in May and also received a dismal CBO score, reporting that tens of millions would lose health insurance.

Contrast this with the Affordable Care Act, under which 20 million Americans have gained coverage since it was signed into law in 2010. 

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2) No hearings and no debates

McConnell has deliberately avoided holding hearings and debates on the bill, because he knows how bad it is.

Contrast this with the Affordable Care Act, which in 2009 received 100 Senate hearings and 25 days of floor debate totaling hundreds of hours of discussion. McConnell and Senate Republican leaders want to push this disastrous bill through Congress fast, in hopes that the public won’t have time to understand how bad it is.

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3) McConnell calls a vote

McConnell wants Trumpcare to become law as quickly as possible. So the minute he assembles at least 50 of his fellow Republicans, he will call a vote to pass it, then send the damaging bill back to the House.

And if and when this terrifying bill reaches the House, it’s even closer to reaching Trump’s desk and being signed into law. That’s why we need to fight like hell to stop Trumpcare and prevent millions of Americans from losing access to care.