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A group of Republicans making a final push to topple the Affordable Care Act say they have almost enough votes in the Senate to pass their bill. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R., La.) told reporters Friday that he believes 48 or 49 GOP Senators support the bill. Fewer have publicly committed to the legislation, and it remains unclear if it has the momentum supporters claim. (Armour and Hackman, 9/15)

The problem for Senate Republicans when it comes to ObamaCare repeal has always been getting the final few votes to put them over the top. The repeal legislation that failed in July got 49 votes, but fell short because three GOP senators bucked leadership and voted no. There is an extremely short window to pass the bill before a procedural deadline of Sept. 30. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Friday announced his opposition, saying the bill kept too much of ObamaCare. (Sullivan, 9/15)

Right now, support for the bill — which would replace Obamacare’s tax subsidies with block grants, end the law’s individual insurance mandate and scale back its Medicaid expansion — among Republican senators is short of 50 votes. But McConnell and his lieutenants will gauge support this week in private party meetings with help from President Donald Trump, administration and Capitol Hill sources said. “McConnell and his team are engaged and serious about the vote and working with the conference to build support for Graham-Cassidy,” a source familiar with the bill’s prospects said Sunday. The “White House is also operating with all hands on deck.” (Everett and Dawsey, 9/17)

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Friday shot down an attempt by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) to win over his support for a last-ditch plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare, arguing that the measure keeps too much of former President Obama's signature health care law. In a brief exchange on Twitter that began with Paul accusing Cassidy's measure of being "Obamacare Lite," Cassidy argued that the bill would repeal the Affordable Care Act's "entire architecture," and offered to go over the legislation with the Kentucky senator. (Greenwood, 9/15)

Democratic senators are reigniting their calls to fight against another Republican healthcare push that aims to repeal and replace ObamaCare after reports surfaced that President Trump and GOP leaders are working to garner support for Cassidy-Graham legislation. Prominent upper chamber lawmakers like Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) are taking to Twitter to make impassioned calls for voters to speak up and demonstrate their opposition to the bill. (Beavers, 9/17)

America’s Essential Hospitals announced its opposition to a new ObamaCare repeal and replace bill, warning of cuts and coverage losses. The group, which represents hospitals that treat a high share of low-income people, said it is opposed to a last-ditch bill to repeal ObamaCare from Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Dean Heller (R-Nev.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). (Sullivan, 9/15)

As if Sen. Lamar Alexander didn’t face enough difficulties trying to craft a bipartisan bill to shore up Obamacare, he’s taking hostile fire from one of his most powerful Republican colleagues — the other health care chairman. Alexander is “stealing our jurisdiction,” Senate Finance Chairman Sen. Orrin Hatch told POLITICO, referring to the turf split between his panel and Alexander’s HELP Committee. “It’s pretty hard to get excited about what he’s doing.” (Haberkorn, 9/17)

The Affordable Care Act’s requirement that Americans either carry health insurance or pay a fine remains the law’s most unpopular feature. Nevertheless, a bipartisan group of governors is insisting that the so-called individual mandate remain in place — at least for now. In a letter sent late last month, the governors urged federal lawmakers to retain the mandate to help stabilize insurance markets. But the group, which is led by Republican John Kasich of Ohio and Democrat John Hickenlooper of Colorado, also said states should be given the opportunity to devise “a workable alternative” to it, subject to federal approval. (Ollove, 9/15)

With all the attention this week on the Republicans’ last desperate push to overturn Obamacare and Sen. Bernie Sanders’ new single-payer bill that’s going nowhere, has the bipartisan health-care effort backed by Gov. John Kasich fallen by the wayside? Quite the contrary, several analysts say. (Rowland, 9/15)