Senate Dem: Passing ObamaCare a ‘very different process’ than GOP plan

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) on Monday drew a distinction between the way ObamaCare was passed and the way in which the GOP is handling its healthcare plan.

“When the Democrats passed the Affordable Care Act back in 2009, I wasn’t in the Senate, but there were hearings after hearings after hearings over a year before they came to the conclusion that they were going to have to pass the bill without Republicans,” he said on CNN’s “New Day.”

“The bill had Republican amendments taken up and voted on in committee hearings before it ultimately became law, but it’s a very different process than the closed-door process Republicans are following now.”

{mosads}Coons said the GOP is finding it difficult to get the number of votes necessary in the Senate to pass its healthcare plan.

“Some of the far right wants to completely repeal the Affordable Care Act,” he said.

“But then there’s folks who are more moderate Republicans who want to save or extend the Medicaid expansion that their states have benefited so much from, so they have big internal divisions.”

Coons said he is hearing rumors the GOP is “making real progress.”

“But we have very little insight into exactly what the provisions are of this bill,” he said.