While it appears the Senate might be close to a draft of the American Health Care Act bill, reports yesterday seemed to indicate that the public might not get a look at it in the coming weeks before a vote.

The Senate, unlike the House, apparently does plan to send the bill to the Congressional Budget Office in its final form. Republicans want to get the bill through before July 4, so assuming the Senate sends it to the CBO sometime this week (the CBO would take about two weeks for analysis) that leaves little time for public viewing before it would potentially go for a vote.

You might remember that every single Tennessee Republican in the House voted in favor of repealing the Affordable Care Act and replacing it with the AHCA — a bill that very few congress members even got to read in its entirety before casting a vote. The House voted on the bill before the CBO scored it, meaning that they did so before learning that 23 million Americans would lose their health insurance under the plan.

What the Senate might be trying to avoid in keeping the language out of the press and the public is the criticism the House faced when it released the first version of the legislation — criticism that ultimately led to Speaker Paul Ryan pulling the bill only for it to be hastily amended and passed in early May.

Pith reached out to Sens. Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander to see if they could give a glimpse into the process or confirm that the Senate doesn't plan to release details.

Corker's office sent a statement saying that he hoped for a more transparent process.



“The Senate is still in the process of writing its bill, and Senator Corker remains involved in those discussions," Corker's communications director Micah Johnson wrote in an email. "He does wish the process included public hearings and has communicated that to Senate leadership. He will continue to work with his colleagues to resolve the issues that are driving up health care costs, limiting choices, and creating uncertainty in the individual market.”

The statement, notably, makes no promise of public hearings.

Alexander did not want to comment on the process. Because of his status as the health committee chairman, the senior senator is part of a 13-man working group — no women are on it — of Senate republicans who are crafting the legislation. Alexander's office reiterated his priorities for the bill, which he sent out in a press release after the House passed the AHCA.

From Alexander:

"I congratulate the House on passage of its bill. The Senate will now finish work on our bill, but will take the time to get it right. My own goals for a Senate bill include: 1) rescuing the thousands of Tennesseans and millions of Americans who will be trapped in collapsing Affordable Care Act exchanges with few or even zero options for health insurance in 2018 unless Congress acts; 2) lowering premium costs, which have increased under the ACA law; 3) gradually giving states more flexibility on the Medicaid program, but doing this in a way that does not pull the rug out from under people who rely on Medicaid; and 4) making sure those with pre-existing conditions have access to insurance.”

Since we're not sure exactly what the Senate is going to include (or not include) in the bill, we're going to assume there's still some time to let them know what you think they should do — or just tell them you'd like to see the dang thing before it gets voted on.

Here are all the ways you can reach Alexander:

Email contact form: https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/email

Washington Office

455 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

Phone: (202) 224-4944

Fax: (202) 228-3398

TTY: (202) 224-1546

Chattanooga Office

Joel Solomon Federal Building

900 Georgia Avenue, #260

Chattanooga, TN 37402

Phone: (423) 752-5337

Fax: (423) 752-5342

Jackson Office

111 Murray Guard Drive, Suite D

Jackson, TN 38305

Phone: (731) 664-0289

Fax: (731) 664-3129

Knoxville Office

Howard H. Baker, Jr.,

U.S. Courthouse

800 Market Street, #112

Knoxville, TN 37902

Phone: (865) 545-4253

Fax: (865) 545-4252

Memphis Office

Clifford Davis-Odell Horton Federal Building

167 North Main Street, #1068

Memphis, TN 38103

Phone: (901) 544-4224

Fax: (901) 544-4227

Nashville Office

3322 West End Avenue, #120

Nashville, TN 37203

Phone: (615) 736-5129

Fax: (615) 269-4803

Tri-Cities Office

Tri-Cities Regional Airport

2525 Highway 75

Suite 101

Blountville, TN 37617

Phone: (423) 325-6240

Fax: (423) 325-6236

Scheduling Requests — DC Office

455 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Please fax all D.C. and out-of-state scheduling requests to (202) 228-3398 or email scheduling@alexander.senate.gov

Washington, DC 20510

Fax: (202) 228-3398

Scheduling Requests — Tennessee Office

3322 West End Avenue, #120

Please fax all Tennessee scheduling requests to (615) 269-4803 or email tnscheduling@alexander.senate.gov

Nashville, TN 37203

Fax: (615) 269-4803





Here are all the ways you can reach Corker:

Email contact form: https://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/emailme

Washington Office

Dirksen Senate Office Building

SD-425

Washington, DC 20510

Main: (202)224-3344

Fax: (202)228-0566

Memphis Office

100 Peabody Place, Suite 1125

Memphis, TN 38103

Main: (901)683-1910

Fax: (901)575-3528

Nashville Office

3322 West End Ave., Suite 610

Nashville, TN 37203

Main: (615)279-8125

Fax: 615-279-9488

Knoxville Office

800 Market Street, Suite 121

Knoxville, TN 37902

Main: (865)637-4180

Fax: (865)637-9886

Jackson Office

91 Stonebridge Boulevard

Suite 103

Jackson, TN 38305

Main: (731)664-2294

Fax: (731)664-4670

Tri-Cities Office

1105 East Jackson Boulevard, Suite 4

Jonesborough, TN 37659

Main: (423)753-2263

Fax: (423)753-3679

Chattanooga Office

10 West MLK Blvd., 6th Floor

Chattanooga, TN 37402

Main: (423)756-2757

Fax: (423)756-5313