Senate Dems to force vote this week to overrule Trump ObamaCare change

Democrats are planning to force a vote in the Senate this week on overturning a Trump administration rule expanding non-ObamaCare insurance plans.

The Democratic resolution, which will likely get a vote on Wednesday, would overturn a rule finalized in August that expanded the availability of short-term health insurance plans.

{mosads}Democrats decry the plans as “junk” insurance because they does not need to cover pre-existing conditions or follow other ObamaCare rules. Republicans argue the plans provide a cheaper option alongside ObamaCare plans.

The resolution, which is supported by all 49 Senate Democrats, is unlikely to pass given that it would need 51 votes, although GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine), who broke with their party on health care last year, have not publicly said how they will vote.

Even a failed vote, however, would allow Democrats to hammer Republicans on the issue of pre-existing conditions, which they have made central to the campaign ahead of next month’s midterm elections.

Democrats point out that the short-term health insurance plans can deny people who have pre-existing conditions.

The rule in question, finalized by the Trump administration in August, lifts restrictions that limited short-term plans to a duration of three months. Under the new rules, short-term plans can last up to a year, which critics say makes them not actually “short-term” at all.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), who is up for reelection this year, is the main sponsor of the resolution.

On Wednesday we are voting to overturn these junks plans. I am eager to see whether Republicans want to support these junk plans and stick w Trump or do they want to support their constituents. I think they stick w Trump.

— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) October 8, 2018