Insurance market. The remarks made at a motoring Club Rotary Club in kentucky shows a shift from the legislator. He raised the idea last week that they wanted to turn to the democrats. This is the first time he has explicitly raised the prospect of shoring of the Affordable Care act. Mitch mcconnell who pledged to eradicate the law known as obamacare root and branch, raised the prospect of working with democrats after a measure he had crafted behind closed doors. It would jettison the requirement that people prove they had health coverage, and would make deep, longterm cuts to the medicaid program. Listen to the coverage, local coverage, of the leaders remarks in his home state of kentucky. This is the abc affiliate with their coverage of his townhall meeting. Mitch mcconnell back into the bluegrass today. Onestop he made was at a Health Pavilion community center. Senator Mitch Mcconnell taken time to address the rim before accepting questions from the audience. One of the most pressing issues, the Gop Health Care bill. We are in a discussion amongst ourselves, senate republicans, about the way forward. I do not have the answer yet. Members of congress in their home states this week, but will reconvene on monday. Rand paul said today he is pitching a proposal to allow health plans across state lines. Senator mcconnell unsure whether the proposal could be included in the final version of the Republican SenateHealth Care Bill. I think every republican is in favor, but the problem is whether it can be included from a parliamentary point of view and what we are trying to do. Of,ne thing he is sure repealing obamacare now and replacing it later will not be a viable option moving forward. The Health Insurance market is imploding, premiums are going up, deductibles are going up, so we need to solve the Current Crisis and i think repealing and then delaying the replacement does not work. Host the majority leader in the senate, no action is not an alternative. Mitch mcconnell saying raising the prospects that republicans could reach out to democrats to try to shore up the Affordable Care act if they do not have the votes from their own proposal. What is your message to senators as they prepare to come back next week and could hold a vote on a proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care act in the coming weeks . Monique, democrat. Good morning. Youre on the air. Caller good morning. I want to say that the republicans and democrats need to get it together. They need to Work Together to make this Affordable Care act playing this back and forth and he said she said game. Im getting really tired of my insurance went down under president obama. Im a district of columbia resident. Month,aying 250, 500 and it dropped down have to one. 128. T that have no access to the aca are suffering, because the republicans [indiscernible] for the people whose insurance premiums are high and they are paying high deductibles, that is your congressman and senators problem. They did not go to work for you, they went to work for their campaign. I am tired of it. The market people have got to get to by other get together and do some research and stop this. Cspan has done an amazing job on the Health Care Insurance question that a lot of us are suffering with. All you have to do is go to see spam, cspan, go to the history gallery, and see what our senators and congressmen have been talking about. It is not president obamas fault, it is not the majority of the democrats. The problem is the democrats desk republicans want to be aca to fail. Remember, i did not say obamacare because the aca is the same thing as obama care. They did to their own constituents on purpose, and i feel bad for those women who have to pay high premiums and high deductibles. It is not the president s fault. Im sorry. Host i will leave it there, and as i said you can follow along with his Health Care Debate from beginning to end on cspan. Org. There, find our archives beginning with the Affordable Care act debate under the Obama Administration to the debates that are happening now. Tennessee, independent, good morning. Caller good morning. My thoughts have been for a couple of years now that we should have a health care debit card that would work just like a , [indiscernible] if they have an illness the government should seven and help that, but give people a chance to manage their own Health Care Benefits and make things more efficient, more simple, and i think democrats would be on board without because we know democrats like food stamps just as well as anybody else does. Miss greta, i hope you have a great day and a good weekend. Same to you. Steve, democrat. Good morning. What is your message to the that at about considering this legislation . Good morning. Im a democrat, and i think that the democrat senators should not do anything. I would like to see the Health Care Bill passed by the thatlicans because i think the American People who voted for donald trump and the republicans need to suffer. They have to learn the hard way. Pass it, let the republican senators pass it, and the American People need to suffer, the trump voters, and they will learn their lesson. Host as you probably know, there are 50 to republicans, so Mitch Mcconnell can only afford 52 republicans, senator mcconnell can only afford to lose two votes, upon which my pencil have to be the tiebreaking those mike pence will have to be the tiebreaking vote for this to pass. Caller thats why im saying. The people who voted for trump need to learn their lesson. Y cannot vote republican. They will harm you. If it does pass an end up working with democrats, that is good. Is for theeference Republican Trump voters to learn their lesson. Host ok, steve. At mcconnell suggestion, that they may have to work with democrats, the Washington Post says that he and his colleagues might have to try to bolster the insurance exchanges created under the Affordable Care act. That suggestion is that odds with republican talking points that they are beyond repair. The market places were built for access to do not have a portable coverage through a job, and at last count, over 10 million americans had health care purchased through those exchanges. More than eight in 10 customers bought planned the federal subsidies the law provides. Scott, new york, independent. Open to the conversation. Caller good morning. I would like to first make a comment that two years ago, almost three years ago to this day, look it up on your cspan archives, scott from new york called and everybody was laughing at donald trump and is the only republican that, for some reason, could be Hillary Clinton. Two years later, guess what happened. Anyways, im actually going to run for mayor this year, i will not get many votes but i get a voice of my town and council meetings. For the past month and a half, ever since this past through the fore, when tom reed voted the Health Care Bill in the house, i have been trying to get our Council Members to get a petition going because years ago, as i Pay Attention in life, in my little town they put all of their eggs in the medical department. We lost all the factories, and he kind of industry around, even small businesses, kmart is closing down pretty soon, and ,hey have built up medical medical this, medical that, medical transit board transit. Cut out 20 some Million People on their Health Insurance, do you know what that is going to cause . Laser major loss of medical jobs and the politicians do not even realize this. Nobody pays attention. All you humans out there, we need to unite. Pay attention. Host to your point about donald trump winning and you predicting pat toomey their republican anator from pennsylvania had explanation as to why republicans are not on the same page. He said he did not expect donald trump to win. I think most my colleagues did not, so we did not expect to be in this situation. Texas,o to republican, good morning. Good morning. What do you think about Mitch Mcconnell saying if they do not have their votes for a republican proposal, they might have to work with democrats . Caller hello . Host you are on the air, what do you think about that . Caller my name is john. I think theyll should Work Together, even though i am a republican. I do not think we need the government taking care of us. Since obamacare went in effect, the prices went up, and the premiums did, but the covered wentent down coverages down. I had to go by coverage myself, i was selfemployed at the time, and once i bought at the premiums went up 107 month. If i can do it, anyone else can do it. But what i am saying is that the people need to if the government would pass this republican program, then the Insurance Companies would compete, which would bring the prices down. The government needs to get out of our business. I dont understand these democrats that i have been listening to on your show here that think obamacare is so great and everything else. As far as that councilman or whoever he was in new york, maybe they should continue bringing jobs in those cities rather than counting on the medical people . And they could get insurance is to bring their prices down. Nots not a brain it does take a brainiac to figure all this out. John in texas, a republican. Throughout the days washington journal as we talk to all of you and you send your message to the senators about what you want care, weo on health will go into some senators home states, senators who will be key to any vote and talk to political reform orders local reporters from those states about what is happening with the Affordable Care act in those states. The first one is the state of maine. Kevin miller joining us, good morning, sir. Inc. You for being with us. Think for having me. Host thank you for being with us. Guest thanks for having me. There is talks of will run for governor. What has she said all along, remind our viewers who do not know, and what is she saying now that she is home to the fourth of july recess . Senator collins is been critical of the Affordable Care act for some time. She did not vote for it when it was up in the senate. But what she has been saying is that it needs to be changed, it needs to be tweaked and improved. She is one of the first senators to come out in opposition to the republican plan, one of the first republican senators to come out in opposition to the republican plan. Back in january, she floated her own plan with editor bill cassidy of louisiana senator bill cassidy of louisiana. Since she has been back in the state, senator collins does not do a lot of town halls. But she participated in a parade, a very wellknown parade here in maine over the weekend was notuly 4 holiday, i there because unfortunately we had a State Government shutdown at the time we were all covering , but from all the reports that we have seen and from what senator collins said, she said that people were really encouraging her to stand her ground against the Health Care Bill, and were thanking her for her position and her criticism of it so far. Host and the Editorial Board for the Portland Press herald, senate should fight healthcare bill senator collins should fight the healthcare bill, standing her ground. What exact changes is she asking for in order to be a guess vote . Yes vote . Guest her big concerns right now seem to be focused a lot on the impact to medicaid, the cuts and the spending caps. Maine is a rural state and we are also an old state. Speaking how we are the oldest state in the country. About one in five Main Residence had on medicaid or their insurance, so she has really ofd this is a big concern her, even though maines governor not under expand did not expand obamacare medicaid under obamacare. But that has been her top concern. In maine andre also nationally the number of people that could be dropped from medicaid rolls or from the insurance rolls. And of course she has also talked about her concerns about the impact on rural hospitals, in large, sparsely populated states, hospitals are struggling financially. Republican,erate she is concerned about the proposed cuts to planned parenthood. Those are a lot of the concerns that she has raised so far that would like to see changed. And what about planned parenthood, because she also has some concerns with that organization and the cuts to funding to them. Do they play a role in the state of maine . Guest they are certainly here. They are a Major Health Care in Womens Health and abortion services. Senator collins has been a very consistent supporter of planned parenthood, so that is not as big of a issue. I think theyre pleased with their stance on this, obviously. Host lets listen to what the senator had to say. She was interviewed by cnn while she was in maine during this fourth of july recess. Here she is. What i have been hearing the entire recess is people telling me to be strong, that they have a lot of concerns about the Health Care Bill in the senate. They want me to keep working on it, but they do not want me to support it in its current form. Unless the bill is dramatically changed. Kevin millar, she wants dramatic changes. As i mentioned at the top, she is considering a run for governor in 2018. And howely is this is that impacting her view on this legislation . Guest i am sure it is factoring in. She isors that potentially running for governor have been swirling for some time. She has basically said that she is considering and. Senatority is that collins is immensely popular in and that popularity extends beyond republicans. She has the popular been popular in independents and some democrats because she is moderate. The popularity seems to have taken a hit since the last election, even though she did not support President Trump. She has deported a few of his supported a few of his nominees, like jeff sessions, but it still seems like she is fairly popular. Was a lot of pressure before she toounced that she was going oppose the senate bill. We saw the same things in maine as we see elsewhere in terms of protest and rallies and people outside of her office, and whenever she went somewhere yellinguld be protests at her to oppose the bill. Miller, political reporter with the Portland Press herald. Thank you for your time. Guest thank you for having me. Host that is the perspective that of maine, and we will be Touching Base with political reporters in a number of states across the country this morning as we continue to talk to all of you about what you think senators should be doing on health care. Kevin, massachusetts, independent caller. Caller hi. Personally, i dont care for obamacare. We are stuck here, monday care, tuesday care. Basically, as long as there is greed by the Insurance Companies, and this management, incompetence, and corruption, it does not matter. It will be the same old same old. That is all i got a say all i got to say. Host kevin, how do you get your insurance . Caller i actually get it through my wife. Veteran. A host so you get some benefits through the Veterans Affairs department . Caller yes maam. Host and how does your wife get . Through her employer . Caller yes maam. Host what do think about this proposal looking run this by you in the New York Times this morning. Bigger debate over health costs leaves a subsidy out of the fray. It is reported that republican senators are working to fix their troubled healthcare bill, and there is one giant Health Current subsidy Health Insurance subsidy known as talking about, bigger than the affordableat care act. The beneficiaries, everyone who gets Health Insurance through a job, including members of congress. Much of the bitter debate over how to repeal and replace the law known as obamacare has focused on cutting medicaid and subsidies that help low income he people low income people buy insurance, but economists argue to rein in healthcare scale congress should back or eliminate the tax exclusion on what employers pay premiums. Loyees those are not subject to the payroll or income taxes that are taken out of employees wages. An arrangement that vastly benefits middle and upper income people. Do all of youhat this morning. What do you think about this idea . What if any reforms to health care would be to eliminate this Tax Exemption for those that get insurance through their employer . To this. It costs five times as much as the subsidies the Affordable Care act set up to help people buy Health Insurance, which are estimated to total 49 billion this year. And it is far more than the 70 billion the federal government is spending to expand medicaid under obamacare this year. For the federal government to help benefit exclusion is the single largest tax e