It ain't over 'til it's either actually pulled from consideration, or actually voted down.
Too much of this smacks of political chicken. "Give me a little bit here to show the voters at home, and you can get my vote. Otherwise …" Thus the bone (well bucket o' money) thrown to Alaska to get Murkowski's vote this round.
There's plenty of time to continue cutting these deals, both making the bill a multi-headed monster and setting up individual provisions that can be gotten rid of individually later.
That said, I don't envy McConnell, as he has significant demands coming from both directions of his caucus, with no room for error. Will Lee really vote no if he doesn't get a bill that throws still more people out on the street? For that matter, will Paul? Hard to say. Either may settle for less, or be given assurances that there can be more trimming in 2018. These public "Noes" should be taken with a grain of morphine, but don't let them put you to sleep.
Lee opposes Senate GOP health care bill, potentially dooming this iteration
Great news bye to trumpcare.
Good. That was awful from the start.
There's a branch of economics that deals in this sort of hostage bargaining, where individuals whose cooperation is needed start bidding up the cost of their cooperation until it exceeds the value of the product.
So the current plan appears to be … um … just repeal it. With a two year time delay. Because that will (a) provide "stability," and (b) kick the can down the road for doing anything about actually replacing it.
Leadership!
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/342456-mcconnell-senate-will-try-to-repeal-obamacare-with-delayed-replacement