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July 26, 2017, 1:02 p.m.

After already voting down one of their leaders' plans to replace the Affordable Care Act, Senate Republicans on Wednesday rejected another one, this time aproposal to simply repeal most ofObamacare.

That left GOP senators withfew remaining options to fulfilltheir campaign promise to gut the 2010 law.

The amendment from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) mirrored an earlier 2015 bill from conservatives to repealthe Affordable Care Act by 2020.

President Trump at various times has pushed the repeal-onlyidea, which was seen as the most straightforward approach to take amid disagreementwithin the party over how to reform the law.

But Paul's proposal failed to reach the 50 votes needed for passage, despite the Republican 52-seat Senate majority and the fact that a similar measure passed in 2015. Seven Republicans joined all Democrats in the 45-55 vote.

The Senate reached a pivotal moment this week when Vice President Mike Pence cast a tie-breaking vote to open debate on a House-passed healthcare overhaul.

But after that victory, the next steps are proving much more difficult for the GOP.

Late Tuesday, nine Republican senators broke with the party to reject their most comprehensive proposal, the Better Care Reconciliation Act, even after sweeteners were added to attract support from conservatives who want full repeal and centrists who worry about cuts to Medicaid.

The chamber is engaged in a prolonged process over the next two days to vote on various amendments and proposals, but few, if any, are expected to gain traction.

Leaders best hope may come later in the week with the so-called "skinny repeal" that would simply end the Affordable Care Act's mandate that all Americans carry insurance and that employers of bigger companies provide coverage to their workers. That plan would also repeal some of the taxes imposed by Obamacare on medical firms to pay for expanded coverage.

The rest is here:
Senate Republicans reject a straight repeal of Obamacare, leaving few options for overhaul - Los Angeles Times