No Vote

West Virginia’s Republican U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito has voted to replace the Affordable Care Act with a proposed substitute that was defeated in a 57-43 floor vote. Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin voted against the amendment proposed by the Senate’s majority Republican leadership, saying it essentially repeated last week’s proposal that would hurt many West Virginians. Capito, who opposed previous substitutes, says Tuesday night’s amendment had $100 billion more to help states transition people from Medicaid to private insurance and $45 billion for addiction treatment, both provisions she wanted. About 525,000 of West Virginians are enrolled in Medicaid. About 175,000 joined under the act’s expansion. About 35,000 others got coverage through the act’s insurance exchange. Both voted Wednesday against simply repealing provisions of the current law. That amendment failed 55-45.