Indiana Senators Say They're Ready To Work On Health Care Bill

Repeal or replace? Senators returning to Washington have been told they will have a vote this week – but not what they will vote on.

Republican U.S. Sen. Todd Young was in Whitestown for a ribbon cutting at the new AmerisourceBergen pharmaceutical distribution center Monday. He says he will vote yes to open debate on health care.

“My hope is that we can move forward into debate and it’s unclear what substantive vehicle we’re going to be voting on,” Young says. “What exactly the bill is going to look like.”

Last week the Senate worked to revive an Affordable Care Act replacement, until it became apparent the votes weren’t there. This week began with talk of repealing the ACA without a replacement – to end it two years from now.

In a statement after the non-partisan CBO report last week, Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly said health care reform is not a political game and he continues to stand ready to work with Senate colleagues.

“I know this, I know we have to act as a Congress, Republicans and Democrats both acknowledge that premiums are too high, there is a lack of access,” Young says. “There certainly is here in Indiana where two-thirds of counties offer consumers no choice in the individual insurance market.”

U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita (R-Ind.), who was also attending the AmerisourceBergen event, offers a solution if the Senate doesn’t have a bill to vote.

“I say we put our same bill forward again perhaps and keep trying to educate the American people on what it really does because there is a lot of misinformation out there,” Rokita says.

According to NPR, the Senate is expected to vote Tuesday on whether to advance health care legislation to the Senate floor.