Graham, Bernie Sanders to square off in health-care town hall

Lindsey Graham will make the case for his health-care bill to the nation Monday against another lawmaker with the polar opposite view – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.

South Carolina’s senior U.S. senator, a Republican, and the Vermont senator, an independent, are scheduled to square off in a CNN town-hall meeting Monday, along with U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.

The 90-minute town hall meeting in Washington, D.C., will air live at 9 p.m.

Graham and Cassidy are the sponsors of a bill that would repeal the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare.”

Senate Republicans hope to vote on Graham’s bill next week. However, its prospects may have been dealt a mortal blow Friday when U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said he would vote against his long-time friend’s proposal.

Graham’s bill would convert most federal health-care spending into block grants to the states. It widely is seen as the GOP’s last chance to repeal the Affordable Care Act this year.

Sanders, meanwhile, is pushing in the opposite direction, sponsoring a “Medicare-for-all” bill that would guarantee federally provided health coverage to all U.S. citizens in a single-payer system.

This story was originally published September 22, 2017 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Graham, Bernie Sanders to square off in health-care town hall."