Senate’s No. 2 Dem Wants Both Parties To ‘Sit Down Together’ To Rework Obamacare

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the chamber’s No. 2 Democrat, on Sunday kept open the possibility of a bipartisan deal to rework ObamaCare, with the task now totally in the hands of the Senate.

“Let’s sit down together,” he told “Fox News Sunday.” “I don’t agree with many aspects of [the Republicans’] starter plan. But it’s a good faith effort to do two things: Reduce the cost of health insurance and expand the reach of health insurance. That should be our national goal.”

Durbin spoke after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office on Wednesday released a final audit on the GOP-led House’s ObamaCare overhaul bill.

Though the report found that 23 million Americans would lose health insurance by 2026 and that premium costs would increase under the chamber’s American Health Care Act, it also concluded the plan would reduce the federal budget by $119 billion over 10 years.

Senate Democrats have repeatedly acknowledged that the 2010 Affordable Care Act, known as ObamaCare, has problems, particularly increasing premiums with few policy options.

However, Democrats are largely trying to use Republicans’ repeal-and-replace attempts against them in the 2018 elections and beyond, pointing out that millions could lose insurance under the current GOP plan. Read more at Fox News.

{Matzav}