JUST IN: Ted Cruz pushing for more Obamacare waiver power in the Graham-Cassidy bill

Ted Cruz is reportedly pushing to get back into the Graham-Cassidy bill what was taken away, which is more waiver power for the states over Obamacare regulations:

DC EXAMINER – Sen. Ted Cruz is seeking changes to the Senate GOP healthcare reform bill that would give states more authority to waive the healthcare law’s mandates, senior aides said Monday.

Cruz, R-Texas, does not yet support the bill from Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Bill Cassidy, R-La. The legislation would convert Obamacare funding into block grants and give states the power to determine whether to continue imposing the law.

But Cruz wants “more freedom in the waivers and more authority for the states to be impactful in that process,” one GOP aide said.

According to the aide, the revised version of Graham-Cassidy initially included the provisions desired by Cruz, but some of them were removed.

“There are some things in there that would represent some progress when it comes to the regulatory waiver process,” the aide said. “But there are also some changes in there that are deeply problematic and represent less authority for states and less freedom for consumers to get out from under Obamacare regulations.”

The aide said Cruz wants to find a way to vote for the bill.

“But we need to move the ball closer to where he is comfortable with it,” the aide said. “We are disappointed and frustrated we had an agreement that was moved away from us.”

This is exactly why I have so little hope that, short of new elections, this Republican party will be able to make a dent in Obamacare. What was taken out of the bill that lost Cruz’s support was something than probably gained some other senator’s support. In other words support for this bill, or support for repealing Obamacare in general, appears to be a zero-sum game when it comes to the RINOs vs Conservatives. And that will never work.

But kudos to Cruz for trying to get more states the power to reject Obamacare.


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