Lott, Daschle hopeful for bipartisan Senate health care legislation

Without bipartisan consensus there can be no permanent consensus on health care, said former Senate Majority Leaders Tom Daschle (D-SD) and Trent Lott (R-MS) while jointly addressing attendees today at the 2017 AHA Annual Membership Meeting. Both former senators expressed optimism that the parties might come together in the Senate while working on the American Health Care Act, legislation to repeal and replace parts of the Affordable Care Act that passed the House last week. “They have to go back to the drawing board and bring everyone to the table,” said Daschle. When asked what he thought about the odds of the Senate passing revised legislation to repeal and replace the ACA, Lott said, “They’re going to get it done. It’s a very narrow needle to thread but I don’t think politically they have any choice.”