Sen. John McCain could again be the decisive vote.

By Burgess Everett and Jennifer Haberkorn @ Politico.com, Updated 09/18 06:37 PM EDT

Obamacare repeal plan won’t get full CBO analysis by key deadline

Senate Republicans could hold a vote on the bill without knowing how it would affect health insurance coverage or premiums.

The bait and switch at the heart of the new Obamacare repeal bill

Graham-Cassidy is being sold as giving states flexibility. But it hugely cuts health care spending.

Insurers Come Out Swinging Against New Health Bill

By ROBERT PEAR @ NYTimes.com, Sept. 20

The health insurance industry said that state-by-state block grants could create chaos in the short term and an uncertain market.

[....] The two major trade groups for insurers, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and America’s Health Insurance Plans, announced their opposition on Wednesday to the Graham-Cassidy bill. They joined other groups fighting the bill, such as the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association, AARP and the lobbying arm of the American Cancer Society.

“The bill contains provisions that would allow states to waive key consumer protections, as well as undermine safeguards for those with pre-existing medical conditions,’’ said Scott P. Serota, the president and chief executive of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. “The legislation reduces funding for many states significantly and would increase uncertainty in the marketplace, making coverage more expensive and jeopardizing Americans’ choice of health plans.”

America’s Health Insurance Plans was even more pointed. The legislation could hurt patients by “further destabilizing the individual market” and could potentially allow “government-controlled single payer health care to grow,” said Marilyn B. Tavenner, the president and chief executive of the association. Without controls, some states could simply eliminate private insurance, she warned.

Insurers had been reluctant to speak out against the Republicans’ previous proposals in hopes that the White House and Congress would agree to stabilize insurance markets by providing critical funding for subsidies aimed at low-income Americans. But with hopes of securing that money before they finalize their rates virtually extinguished, insurers have less to lose by coming out against the proposal.

And many within the industry are worried that the next two years will be chaotic, with little support for the current market while states scramble to come up with a new way for individuals to buy policies [....]