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SALT LAKE CITY — The U.S. Senate is poised to pass a bill repealing major parts of President Barack Obama's signature health care law, and Sen. Orrin Hatch has introduced the first plan to replace it.
Hatch, R-Utah, co-authored the repeal bill and wants to replace the Affordable Care Act with his Patient Care Act.
"It is important that we take every action possible to protect the American people from the disaster that is Obamacare," he said in a YouTube video his office released Wednesday.
Hatch said the Senate for the first time will send the president an Obamacare repeal bill, fulfilling a promise the new Republican majority made to voters. Regardless of what Obama does, Hatch said he won't stop fighting until the health care law is repealed and replaced with "common sense, patient-centered reforms."
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Republicans are "obsessed" with repealing Obamacare.
"Enough of this haranguing about Obamacare," Reid told reporters in Washington.
"Republicans are forcing another show vote on repeal," he said. "This will be the 16th in the Senate, and honestly, I have lost track of how many in the House. Everyone knows this bill can't become law."
The House passed the repeal bill in October but would likely have to approve it a second time if the Senate passes an amended version this week as expected.
Republicans condemn the 5-year-old Affordable Care Act for increasing health insurance premiums, raising the cost of deductibles that patients must pay and reducing their choice of doctors.
Democrats praise the law for providing medical coverage to millions of uninsured Americans, stopping insurance companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existing health problems and allowing young people to stay on their parents' insurance until age 26.
Hatch's proposal aims to lower health care costs by empowering lower- and middle-income families with a refundable tax credit to buy the private coverage of their choice.
Under the plan, no patient could be denied coverage based on a pre-existing condition. It would ban insurance companies from imposing lifetime limits on a consumer and young people could stay on their parents' health plan up to age 26, unless a state chose otherwise.
The plan also includes financial reforms and state flexibility to protect the most vulnerable while also giving Medicaid recipients the option of buying private insurance.
Lee adopts new strategy in fight against Obamacare
Utah Sen. Mike Lee withdrew his plan Monday night to push a second attempt to bring a vote on the Affordable Care Act, switching to a new strategy."Obamacare is doing tremendous damage across America, and in Utah in particular," Hatch said.
Hatch cited the closure of Utah-based Arches Mutual Insurance Company in October as an example of the health care law's failure. About 35,000 Utahns lost coverage when expected federal funding for the health co-op fell severely short.
In addition, he said insurance premiums have gone up 22 percent across the board.
"Utah families should not have to decide between college tuition and health care for their families, Hatch said.
Contributing: USA Today
