As Democrats privately negotiate how extensively they’ll abandon public healthcare, the Senate continues to vote on a series of key amendments. On Tuesday, the Senate failed to pass an amendment that would have made it easier for Americans to purchase cheaper, FDA-approved prescription drugs abroad. The final vote was 51 to 48, nine short of the sixty needed to overcome a filibuster. Thirty Democrats voted against the proposal. Supporters say it would have saved US consumers around $80 billion over the next decade. The Obama administration had also opposed the measure. Meanwhile, the Senate is poised to open debate today on an amendment from Independent Senator Bernie Sanders to establish a single-payer, universal healthcare system. Discussion of the Sanders amendment will mark the first time a single-payer healthcare proposal has ever been debated on the Senate floor.