Last night, Senator Mitch McConnell admitted defeat of the Senate’s health care bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA). “Regretfully, it is now apparent that the effort to repeal and immediately replace the failure of Obamacare will not be successful,” he admitted after two more Republican Senators, Mike Lee of Utah and Jerry Moran of Kanas, announced that they will be voting “no” on the bill. This defeat comes after the decision on Monday to delay the vote as Senator John McCain, a supporter of the bill, recovers from removal of a blood clot above his left eye.

Now, Senator McConnell will instead focus on the repeal of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) to be effective in two years, with a replacement bill to come later. The uncertainty about the ongoing survival of Obamacare will continue to cause instability in the health insurance markets, leaving millions who purchase their health coverage through the Obamacare health care exchanges anxiously watching the continued political turmoil surrounding their health coverage.

For more information on this topic, contact your Health Care counsel at Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP.