Unhealthy outlook for repealing ObamaCare as some GOP senators defect from bill

Several Democrats have admitted Obamacare needs fixing, but that abandoning it for the Republican replacement - known formally as the American Health Care Act - is not a viable option. "The only people who are better off under their bill are millionaires and health insurance companies".

Lynch said the shift in Medicaid funding - from 50-50 state and federal funding to roughly 70 percent funded by states - will be particularly devastating to states that took advantage of Obamacare's Medicaid expansion in recent years, including MA, saying: "Medicaid expansion, that'll kill MA". "Scott there says that Medicaid's not being cut from their perspective, but based on what we see right now in the bill there's just no way that's true", Zwillich says.

The Congressional Budget Office is expected to release its score of the bill early next week, estimating how many millions of Americans stand to lose their insurance.

The Senate plan to repeal and replace Obamacare may be in trouble. Four conservative senators-Rand Paul of Kentucky, Ted Cruz of Texas, Mike Lee of Utah, and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin-announced they would oppose it without changes, which is more than enough to bring it down.

"There are folks in the Republican conference who desperately want this to devolve to the states", said Whitlock, who's now vice president for health policy at ML Strategies, a lobbying and consulting firm.

"There are lots of frustrated senators saying they didn't like the process of writing this bill, [but] none of them saying they would use their power to do anything about it", says Zwillich.

"Those with private insurance will experience higher premiums. with lower tax credits to help working families cover the costs, even as their plans might no longer cover pregnancy, mental health care, or expensive prescriptions".

Remember what Trump promised the American people. According to Stuart, Menendez's leadership is important when fighting for those like he daughter, especially in the face of uncertainty about the impact provisions of GOP health care legislation could have on certain services. Even Republican support for the bill is retreating: 69 percent of Trump supporters said in May that they backed the GOP's plan.

The focus on Medicaid could make amending the bill in a way that pleases enough Republicans hard. As of now, there are at least five senators who have said they can't vote for the bill in its current form. At some point, over a period of years, the federal government would basically limit what it pays for Medicaid, which has always been a shared program between the states and the federal government.

The 142-page Senate health care bill revealed Thursday was written in secret by 13 white men with little or no expertise on health care issues and no advice from doctors, hospitals or health economists, let alone from the public.

If no Democrats get onboard, Republicans can only afford to lose two votes to get the bill passed. "But Republicans believe we have a responsibility to act, and we are", Mr McConnell said.