US Republicans fail to repeal health care reform in Senate; Medical liability bill slammed

As had been largely expected, the USA’s Republican Senators failed to get enough votes to repeal President Barack Obama’s signature health care reform law in a 47-51 party-line vote. But a vote to delete a small, revenue-raising provision of the sweeping law did pass, in a bipartisan vote. The House of Representatives, where Republicans have a majority, voted to repeal the legislation last month (The Pharma Letter January 20 and 25).

"Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, quoted by the Associated Press, said the vote marked an opportunity for Democrats who voted for the bill last year 'to listen to those who have desperately been trying to get your attention. To say, yes, maybe my vote for this bill was a mistake, and that we can do better.”

According to a report in the UK’s Financial Times, most analysts agree that the fate of the Affordable Care Act will be determined not in Congress but in the Supreme Court. The court is expected to hear and rule on the case next year - an election year - laying the groundwork for a decision with far-reaching political implications. Its deliberations will focus on one question: whether the federal government can force individuals to buy health insurance.