Republicans voice growing doubts on US healthcare bill's fate

CRUZ: FAILURE 'NOT AN OPTION'

White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said on Fox News on Sunday that Trump expected Congress to pass a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare before lawmakers leave Washington for their August recess.

A spokesman for Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Senate leadership was continuing to work with Republican senators and the CBO on the legislation, but did not comment on McCain's remarks or the bill's future.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz said on Sunday that failure to pass the bill was "not an option" and that the Senate effort must focus on lowering premiums. He pointed to an amendment he offered that is being scored by the CBO.

Cruz's amendment would allow insurers to offer plans that do not comply with Obamacare's mandate that they charge sick and healthy people the same rates and cover a set of essential health benefits, such as maternity care and prescription drugs, as long as they also offer plans that do comply with the regulations.

Cruz's amendment has drawn support from conservative senators and groups, who say the amendment will help lower premiums. But moderate Republicans and outside critics say it will erode protections for people with pre-existing conditions and make their insurance unaffordable.

McConnell has said he plans to hold a vote on the legislation, which needs the support of at least 50 of the Senate's 52 Republicans, before a six-week recess that begins on July 29. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed its version of a bill overhauling healthcare in May.

Yet McConnell himself voiced doubts on the Senate bill's prospects last week, telling a luncheon in his home state of Kentucky that if Republicans fail to pass a repeal of Obamacare, they may need to work with Democrats to shore up private health insurance markets to keep them from collapsing.

REUTERS