The Republican health care bill that passed the Senate would be considered by the Senate Finance Committee, and the Senate is considering it.
The legislation was designed to give states the option of allowing people with pre-existing conditions to remain on their state’s healthcare plans.
That means people could continue to get coverage if they had a condition such as diabetes or heart disease that made them ineligible for coverage under Obamacare.
But there are two main objections that senators are hearing from Democrats, both of which have already received assurances from Republicans.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told The Associated Press that her Republican colleagues want to keep the bill’s protections for pre-existing conditions in place but would allow insurers to charge people with those conditions more.
“The reason that you have that is because we have the ability to set up the insurance market,” Collins said.
“So that’s why we have that.
And that’s the way it should be, but it’s not the way this legislation is written.
We want to preserve that protections, but we also want to do everything we can to make sure we don’t do something that would harm our insurance market.”
Sen. Ron Johnson, R of Wisconsin, told reporters the senators would vote for the bill if it included protections for those with pre a preexisting condition, but he would not say whether the protections would apply to those with insurance that does not cover them.
“If they do not provide the coverage for people with preexistent conditions, that would be fine,” Johnson said.
He said that while the House bill includes some protections for preexisted conditions, the Senate bill would be a different story.
“They will do their best to be respectful of the process, and they will be very open to what’s going on in the Senate,” Johnson told reporters.
Republican Sens.
Mike Rounds of South Dakota, Jeff Flake of Arizona, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin are among the Democrats who are still weighing in on the legislation.
Senators are also trying to determine if the legislation will be enough to pass the Senate without Democratic support.
“I think it is a good thing,” Rounds told reporters, though he acknowledged it was too early to say.
“It will go into the House.”
