The Senate’s healthcare bill will be written in secret. Get to know the 13 men behind it.
While the rest of the world tuned into last week’s episode of “The Commander in Chief” featuring a dramatic testimony from former FBI Director James Comey, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell quietly moved to accelerate the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
For those not up to speed, the House passed the American Healthcare Act in May. A bill most notable for featuring drastic cuts to Medicaid, the removal of provisions designed to protect individuals with pre-existing conditions, and tax cuts for families making greater than $250,000 a year. It also had the special honor of being introduced and voted on so quickly that congressional leaders are on record stating they didn’t actually have time to read the whole thing.
While some (myself included) held out hope that the Senate would drastically alter the bill and follow something resembling normal operating procedure before reintroducing legislation that will dramatically impact the health of our nation, it has become abundantly clear that this administration has no appetite for even thinly-veiled displays of bipartisanship. They’ll try to get their bill passed no matter what, and they have no interest in hearing anyone else’s opinion.
On June 7th, McConnell initiated a procedural step known as “Rule 14”. By doing so, McConnell can schedule the Senate’s version of the American Healthcare Act to be placed on the calendar for a vote without being debated in committees. This is a stark contrast from the Affordable Care Act, which considered over 130 amendments and was debated for 25 straight days by the entire Senate.
In a clip that went viral earlier this week, Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO), asked Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), whether the Senate’s version of the American Healthcare Act would be available for review prior to being voted on.
Perhaps the 13 men who make up the Senate Health Care Working Group fancy themselves modern-day founding fathers; after all, the Constitution was written in secret. Maybe they will produce something fantastic that doesn’t see 20+ million Americans lose insurance and systematically disadvantage the disabled, elderly, and poor in favor of the healthy, young, and the wealthy. Maybe they will unveil a brilliant way to provide affordable health insurance without offering cheap insurance that doesn’t actually cover anything. Maybe these 13 men have all of the answers and will deliver something great. Maybe.
Because we won’t get to see the legislation before it is voted on, and because it won’t be voted on before McConnell is confident he has enough votes for it to pass, all we can do to find clues about what the legislation might eventually look like is to learn more about each Senator who will be part of crafting it.
Over the next few weeks, I will be posting profiles of the men involved behind-the-scenes of this legislation. Make sure to subscribe for updates from “Last Week in Healthcare” to get the latest.
Until then, get to know the names and faces of the 13 men working behind closed doors to reshape healthcare in America.
Name: Mitch McConnell
Senator: Kentucky — Republican
Age: 75
Name: Orrin Hatch
Senator: Utah — Republican
Age: 83
Name: John Cornyn
Senator: Texas — Republican
Age: 65
Name: John Thune
Senator: South Dakota — Republican
Age: 56
Name: John Barrasso
Senator: Wyoming — Republican
Age: 64
Name: Lamar Alexander
Senator: Tennessee — Republican
Age: 76
Name: Michael Bradley “Mike” Enzi
Senator: Wyoming — Republican
Age: 73
Name: Tom Cotton
Senator: Arkansas — Republican
Age: 40
Name: Cory Gardner
Senator: Colorado — Republican
Age: 42
Name: Rob Portman
Senator: Ohio — Republican
Age: 61
Name: Patrick Toomey
Senator: Pennsylvania — Republican
Age: 55
Name: Mike Lee
Senator: Utah — Republican
Age: 46
Name: Ted Cruz
Senator: Texas — Republican
Age: 46
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