WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito said in a statement released Tuesday she would not support a repeal of Obamacare without an adequate replacement plan.
“I cannot vote to repeal Obamacare without a replacement plan that addresses my concerns and the needs of West Virginians,” Capito said.
The statement came just hours after two of Capito’s colleagues came out against the latest Republican replacement plan killing that effort for now. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) then announced he was planning a vote on repeal only. Capito and fellow Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) then both came out against repeal only Tuesday morning.
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin told reporters Tuesday it’s now time to begin a bipartisan fix to the Affordable Care Act and that should begin with the former governors in the Senate, Manchin said.
“We’re going to start meeting now because I think that’s the most nucleus of a crowd that’s been used to working in a bipartisan (way). They know their states better and they know the struggles their states are having and they know how to govern here,” Manchin said.
The discussion could start with how to fix the private insurance market and how to better manage care for those that are part of the Medicaid expansion, Manchin said.
“Democrats are going to have to give a little bit and Republicans are going to have to give a little bit,” Manchin said.
Perry Bryant, former leader of the group West Virginians for Affordable Health Care, said he’s glad the Republican replacement plan is off the table but it’s not time to celebrate.
“The latest Republican Senate bill may be dead but the issue is alive and well,” Bryant said during an appearance Tuesday on MetroNews “Talkline.” “We’re going to have to deal with health care in a comprehensive manner and hopefully a bipartisan manner.”
Manchin said he’s confident the former governors in the Senate, which number nearly a dozen, can come up with some proposals that would garner support.
“If we can build it there then I think we can take that an hopefully it will permeate throughout the Senate because everything they’ve tried now hasn’t,” Manchin said. “If you just work from the hard-core right and hard-core left basis from America and political parties you end up with what we have now–nothing.”
Capito said the Senate health care discussion drafts have fallen short in two key areas.
“I have serious concerns about how we continue to provide affordable care to those who have benefited from West Virginia’s decision to expand Medicaid, especially in light of the growing opioid crisis,” Capito’s statement said.