The two Republican senators leading the party’s last ditch bid to repeal Obamacare are about to launch an effort to save their reeling bill in a prime-time debate on CNN.
Sens. Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy face off against Democrats Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Amy Klobuchar at 9 p.m. ET, with their measure appearing all-but-doomed after a third Republican, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, came out against it.
Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell can only afford to lose a total of two votes in order to pass the legislation.
GOP Sens. Rand Paul and John McCain have also said publicly they will oppose the bill, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz indicated Monday he was against the legislation in its current form. Another Republican, Sen Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, has deep reservations.
Monday’s debate will take place after the two senators made changes to the measure to try to squeeze it through the Senate.
The 90-minute debate, moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, will see the senators take questions from Americans affected by the legislation or the law it is designed to replace, President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
The clash is likely to exemplify the real human impact posed by changes to health programs, and will force Graham and Cassidy to publicly defend their approach to people who fear their lives and health care could be changed if the bill passes.
It will also highlight McConnell’s dilemma. The moment is approaching when he must make the fateful choice to schedule a vote on a bill that could fail and deal another humiliating defeat to Republicans. But if he shelves the legislation, he risks a backlash from GOP voters who were repeatedly promised that Obamacare will be repealed. Republicans only have until the end of the month to pass the bill using a budgetary device that only requires a simple majority of votes in the Senate.
McConnell’s task of rounding up the final votes is complicated by the bill’s deep unpopularity. A new CBS News poll Monday found the measure has only a 20% approval rating, and that only 46% of Republicans support it.
But Cassidy, from Louisiana, told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer earlier Monday that he was “absolutely” certain that he could get the votes to pass the bill.
Graham told CNN that he didn’t yet know if the legislation would even get a vote.
“We’ll just keep fighting for it here in the Senate. Alaska is looking long and hard at the numbers for them and we’ll see what happens,” he said.
One of the key policy points Democrats are likely to highlight is the issue of insurance for patients with pre-existing conditions, which was guaranteed under Obamacare.
The Graham-Cassidy measure does maintain a requirement that insurers provide coverage to everyone, regardless of medical history. States however would be allowed to change the rules so those with pre-existing conditions could face much higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs. States could also allow insurers to offer less comprehensive plans that don’t cover all treatments.
In a statement, explaining her decision, Collins said the bill does not go far enough to protect people with pre-existing conditions and that the proposal’s cuts to Medicaid are too steep.
Cassidy and Graham, who represents South Carolina, have been frantically adjusting the bill to try to win over additional votes.
In a nod to Murkowski, the revised bill says Native Americans and Alaska Natives enrolled in Medicaid expansion prior to 2020 could continue to be eligible after that point, according to documents circulated Sunday night to senior Senate aides and obtained by CNN.
The state’s large native population and that group’s unique health needs has been a serious concern for the Alaska senator.
Cassidy and Graham could try to counter attack by suggesting that their bill is the only alternative to a Democratic push to build a single payer, government-run health care system. A plan along those lines was released by Sanders earlier this month, and garnered support from several potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. Klobuchar, of Minnesota, has not yet expressed support for the plan.
The Democrats are likely to argue that the Republicans are seeking to take health care away from millions of Americans, but there will be no definitive answer to the question, since the Congressional Budget Office will not have time to make a full analysis of the measure before a vote would need to take place.
Just hours before the debate, the CBO released only a partial score of the GOP’s plan, saying the Graham-Cassidy bill would reduce the budget deficit by at least $133 billion but millions of people would lose comprehensive health insurance.
The town hall debate will air on CNN, CNN en Español and CNN International as well as stream live for subscribers on CNNgo and the CNN mobile apps for iOS and Android. It will also be available to stream live on CNN’s SiriusXM Channel 116. The town hall debate will also be available September 26 on demand via cable or satellite systems, CNNgo platforms and CNN mobile apps.