26 July 2017 - Senate Republicans overcame a range of internal fissures in narrowly voting on Tuesday to begin debate on their healthcare overhaul, but the party suffered a setback hours later when a proposal replacing major portions of the Affordable Care Act failed to attract enough votes to pass.

The first of Senate leaders’ healthcare options, a bill toppling and replacing major portions of the ACA, gained only 43 votes to 57 against. That measure included a much-debated proposal from Sen. Ted Cruz allowing insurers who offer one ACA-compliant health plan to also sell cheaper insurance options that don’t meet ACA rules.

Senate leaders had expected the measure to fail, as Senate rules made it ineligible to pass on a simple majority vote. But the defection of nine GOP Senators — enough to sink the bill even under a simple majority — underscored the lack of support within the party for the ACA replacement that leaders had cobbled together.

Read The Australian article