Despite multiple votes that went into the wee hours of the morning Friday, the U.S. Senate did not manage to come up with a bill to do away entirely with the Affordable Care Act, replace it, or rescind portions of the law commonly known as Obamacare.
A solid Democratic front was joined by a handful of Republicans in shooting down every approach, leaving Obamacare intact, at least for now. The final vote of the night found Arizona Sen. John McCain joining Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski and Maine’s Susan Collins, all Republicans, in siding with Democrats to defeat the final attempt to pass some measure on health care. It did not take long for Montana politicians to weigh in on the result.
Montana’s senior U.S. Senator Jon Tester, a Democrat, called the defeated health care proposals “a scheme to raise insurance rates, kick millions of Americans off their health plans, and threaten to close rural hospitals.” Tester spoke on the Senate floor before the final vote and raised concerns that the legislation would hurt Montana and rural America.
“The Senate has once again wasted precious time and accomplished nothing. Republicans and Democrats must work together to lower the cost of health care for all Montanans.” Republican counterpart Sen. Steve Daines lamented the defeat as a loss for Montanans. “Montanans have made it clear in election after election, they want Obamacare to be repealed and replaced,” Daines stated. “These families have paid far too much and have faced an increase of 133 percent in their premiums over the past five years. We must help these families and not let them suffer under this broken law anymore.”
Montana Democratic Party Executive Director Nancy was critical of Daines for his votes in support. “Steve Daines has proven once and for all that he cares more about helping Washington special interests than improving the wellbeing of Montana families. Daines voted to pass a legislative abomination that is the product of one of the most disgraceful congressional processes in American history,” said Keenan. “This bill would have hurt tens of thousands of Montanans, and Steve Daines knew it. We will hold him accountable for his actions.” She went on to say, “Last night, the partisanship of the Senate majority was too much, even for Washington.
Democrats, under the leadership of Jon Tester and Steve Bullock, will keep fighting for working families and for bipartisan solutions that allow all Montanans to access comprehensive affordable health care.”
Although he had no say in the vote since he is not in the Senate, Montana’s sole Congressman, Republican Ryan Zinke, weighed in on the issue prior to the votes. “I’m glad the Senate is doing its job. Obamacare has been a disaster for Montana’s families. Premiums for Montanans have skyrocketed 133 percent since 2013, and many Montanans will see their premiums increase by more than 23 percent next year. Voting to repeal and replace Obamacare is the right thing to do,” said Zinke.
In the aftermath, Sen. Tester urged cooperation to find a path forward. “The current system needs to be fixed and that’s only going to happen if Republicans and Democrats sit down and work together on solutions that lower the cost of health care for everyone,” Tester said. “I have brought some real health care improvement bills to the table, and I’m committed to finding more solutions, but I cannot and will not vote for anything that raises costs, kicks people off their health plans, and closes rural hospitals.” Tester previously released information on six bills he backs to lower the cost of health insurance premiums, stabilize insurance markets, protect access to Medicaid, and bring down the cost of prescription drugs. Friday he urged the Senate to pursue those bills.
Montana Governor Steve Bullock, a Democrat, also advocated getting input from the nation’s governors. “I urge Congress to stop going down this irresponsible path and work with governors – Democrats and Republicans – who are committed to fixing our healthcare system instead of destroying it,” he said prior to the Friday morning votes.
