Republicans try again

The current big news in the health policy landscape is the Republicans' most recent attempt at repealing the Affordable Care Act, known as the Graham-Cassidy bill. Knowing that the Republicans lack the 60 votes needed for a filibuster-proof vote in the Senate, Republicans have been trying to use a procedure known as budget reconciliation to essentially defund the Affordable Care Act. Budget reconciliation only requires a simple majority, and is not able to overturn all aspects of the Affordable Care Act. It is unclear whether the Republicans can gather the required 50 votes; notably, Senator John McCain has already spoken out against the bill. The New York Times offered its take on what effects the bill would have.

It appears that budget reconciliation can be used until October 1. Therefore, if the Republicans are unable to pass the bill before then, the Affordable Care Act is likely to stay around for much longer than the Republicans had hoped.