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Indiana lawmakers respond to health care bill, timeline

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Lawmakers in Indiana have responded to a released draft of a health care bill and the proposed timeline attached to it.

Indiana Sen. Todd Young is among those taking a close look at the bill, releasing a statement saying, in part, the following:

I am reviewing the discussion draft and speaking with folks at home, but one thing is clear: doing nothing is not an option. I am committed to improving our nation’s health care system so everyone has the opportunity to access high quality and affordable care.”

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is pushing for a vote on the bill next week, meaning senators have just a few days to look it over and propose amendments.

24-Hour News 8’s Phil Sanchez spoke with Indiana Sen. Joe Donnelly on Thursday about that proposed timeline. Here’s what Sen. Donnelly had to say:

You know the last health care bill took over a year. We had meetings, met with doctors; we met with patients, all of these different things to have the input of people of America. To vote on a bill that we’ve never even seen, within one week, with no committee hearings, with zero discussion on the floor for the bill, is almost bizarre, to be honest with you. This is health care for our families; this is health care for people with cancer, with diabetes, and we’ve never seen it. I’m more interested in making sure Hoosiers get health care than in doing it on a certain time schedule.”

Donnelly also said that he does plan to go through the 142-page bill from “stem to stern.”

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