Health care heads to US Senate, bitter fight expected

The bill also restructures Medicaid payments to the states, reducing federal spending.

Schaffner said he's counting on the Trump administration to not let the bill go through. Rob Portman, R-Ohio. He cited its Medicaid cuts, including for treating people with drug problems, and said he'd make sure that "those who are impacted by this epidemic can continue to receive treatment".

Now the bill - and the multitude of questions surrounding it - moves across the Capitol to the Senate.

Many critics, including the Congressional Budget Office, say the House passed the bill too quickly without a cost estimate. It must then go a "conference" to hammer out differences between the House and Senate.

While it looks unlikely that the AHCA will successfully pass the Senate in its current form, it's evident from the amount of reactions to Harris's tongue-in-cheek tweet that many Americans - both Democrats and Republicans - are feeling passionate, and rightfully so, about future their healthcare coverage. The Affordable Care Act, which remains in place, does not permit this.

Mick Mulvaney, Mr Trump's budget director, also said the version that gets to the president would probably differ from the House measure.

"The House voted today to take health care coverage away from tens of millions of Americans, reduce benefits and increase costs for millions more - including the sick - and gut a [Medicaid] program that has been a lifeline for vulnerable people for more than 50 years", said Bruce Siegel, CEO of America's Essential Hospitals, a trade association that represents safety net hospitals. Because of that, there might be the potential in some states for a pregnant woman to be charged more for coverage.

States that did not expand Medicaid under Obama's law are looking for additional funding for their programs. Sen.

Medical and patient groups criticized the latest iteration of the House bill, saying it weakened certain Obamacare patient protections.

This was an act of gross recklessness-betting that the Senate would save House Republicans from themselves-and cynicism. The Affordable Care Act isn't flawless. Under Obamacare, an enrollee who makes more than $47,500 is no longer eligible for a premium subsidy.

The House narrowly passed a revised version of the GOP health care plan Thursday - just over a month after Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, canceled the initial vote due to lagging support.

"I was diagnosed with breast cancer past year, and I have been grateful every single day since to have high-quality health insurance and access to darn good doctors".

The final legislation boosts US military spending and provides increased funding for USA border security, but it sidesteps numerous promises Trump and Republican lawmakers made.

Aetna Inc. said it would pull out of Virginia's individual health insurance marketplace for 2018, according to news reports.

States could also receive waivers to allow insurers to charge older Americans even more than five times the premiums of the young.

As the focus of the health care debate shifted to the Senate, Trump on Sunday urged Senate Republicans to "not let the American people down". "However, in our opinion, there may be some hiccups initially because the proposed timeline for states and insurers to transition fully to the AHCA is a bit aggressive". In those states, insurers could charge people with pre-existing conditions more money for that coverage unless they stay continuously enrolled in an insurance plan. "No one who has a pre-existing condition will be denied coverage".

"For example, if a person loses a job, he or she might lose access to employer-sponsored coverage while simultaneously experiencing a big income loss", she said. A lot of people are going to be hurt as a effect.

"Premiums are going to come down substantially", he said.