The Demise of the Graham-Cassidy Bill, and the Last Ditch Effort Debate

WASHINGTON DC–After reaching the set deadline of Sept. 30, the GOP bill proposed by Senators Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy has been confirmed denied from reaching the Senate floor. What was meant to be another joint effort to establish a proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the bill comes short to reach any approval, even from Republican constituents.

Stemming from as far back as early July, amidst the conundrum of the first proposed repeal plan, the Graham-Cassidy bill began as a liberating but lucrative substitute to the country’s current healthcare system. Containing components that were desirable across branches of congress, this bill was meant as a more polished attempt in comparison to the original President Trump-backed proposal.

To their detriment however, research began to emerge of the expected repercussions if this plan would be put into place, including a $1 trillion cuts to Medicaid over the course of the next decade and millions losing coverage of their current insurance, reported by the Congressional Budget Office.

With support for the repeal exponentially depleting, there was worry amongst the proponents of potential failure to recover. In the final week of consideration, Monday, September 25, CNN held a debate discussing the merits the bill had to offer. Representing the side of defense were Graham and Cassidy themselves, and in opposition were Democrat senator of Minnesota, Amy Klobuchar, and Independent senator of Vermont, Bernie Sanders. Meant to be an opportunity to clearly convey the benefits of the repeal to the general population, Graham and Cassidy made an effort to explain the nuances of their proposal, from states rights to Cassidy’s credentials of his career history. This came as a daunting challenge for the senators, one for having to take on the public’s most popular politician in Sanders, but also having to counter the already vocalized concerns about the consequences of their plans that Sanders made evident in his argument.

As a result which has now been confirmed, the debate was not able to bring out the swaying of direction the GOP would have hoped for. Failure to obtain the backing of key Republican senators such as John McCain (AZ), Ted Cruz (TX), and Rand Paul (KY) even before the debate, meant there were not enough votes to keep the bill alive.

So comes the loss of another attempt to bring about change of our healthcare system, leaving the public on edge for what’s to come, whether it’s Sanders’ own single-payer proposal, or if a 3rd try is on the line.