WASHINGTON �� Republican senators plan to write a health care bill that could be radically different from the one passed last week by the House, including keeping some of the benefits and safeguards currently included in the Affordable Care Act.
The Senate's different approach means there's no clear timetable for producing a bill, and it likely ensures that President Donald Trump and House Republicans will eventually have to face legislation that doesn't fully repeal the Affordable Care Act despite their repeated campaign promises to do so.
"The Senate is starting from scratch," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said on ABC's "This Week" Sunday. "We're going to draft our own bill, and I'm convinced that we're going to take the time to do it right."
Collins, who is among the most moderate Republican senators, and Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said one of their top goals is to ensure that people with pre-existing medical conditions continue to have the same or better coverage.
Collins and Cassidy have introduced a bill, the Patient Freedom Act, that would keep some of the consumer protections in the current law for people with pre-existing conditions while addressing flaws in the Affordable Care Act.
While the House bill that passed Thursday would require states to provide coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, that coverage might not be affordable, Collins said. "So much discretion is given to the states without any guardrails," she said.
Cassidy said on Fox News that he hopes a bill could be sent to Trump by the fall.
"This is not a Democratic issue; it's not a Republican issue," said Cassidy, a physician. "Hopefully, patients will take the precedence over party."
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(Mark Niquette contributed to this report.)
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