LIVE: Senate Republicans just got their first successful amendment vote, and it repeals Obamacare's 'Cadillac Tax'
The Senate is in its third day of a debate to reshape the US healthcare system.
The debate has shifted toward a "skinny repeal" bill, which would repeal certain aspects of the Affordable Care Act. If passed, it could lead to the House and Senate working together to compromise on one final bill.
The debate began earlier Tuesday, and the Senate has 20 hours of legislative time to debate, and about 10 have been used in the first two days. The time's split equally between Democrats and Republicans. Once that concludes, the Senate will then go into a "vote-a-rama" in which an unlimited number of amendments can be proposed to bed added onto the bill.
We'll be updating this post as the debate continues.
10 p.m. - Senate Republicans release their last-ditch effort to repeal Obamacare.
Reuters
After hours of debate, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced an 8-page plan, called the "Health Care Freedom Act." It repeals the individual and employer mandates, along with some key taxes that the Affordable Care Act put into place.
The American Medical Association came out against the Health Care Freedom Act on Thursday, calling it a "toxic prescription."
The Senate will vote on the plan at midnight, along with a motion to commit from Senator Patty Murray of Washington. The vote will be on replacing the House bill, the American Health Care Act with the HCFA.
9:50 p.m. - Senate passes Heller amendment.
Thomson Reuters
Heller's amendment repeals the "Cadillac tax" places a tax on high-end healthcare plans in an attempt to keep healthcare spending lower.
It's the first successful vote the Senate's had since it started its 20 hours of debate on Tuesday.
9 p.m. - Senate votes down a motion to send the bill back to the Finance Committee.
Senator Chuck Schumer's motion to commit failed, with 57 voting against and 43 voting in favor.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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