House To Make Last-Minute Tweaks To Health Plan As White House Pushes For Progress
Language to create a risk-sharing fund will be added to the Republicans' health bill at a Rules Committee on Thursday, news outlets report. However, the non-controversial measure is unlikely to move any lawmakers' stances on the issue.
The Washington Post:
At Trump’s Request, House May Tweak Health-Care Bill Before Recess
House Republican leaders are making last-minute plans to modify their stalled health-care bill Thursday in response to pressure from the Trump administration to show progress toward passing the bill before lawmakers leave for a two-week recess. Four people familiar with the plans, including a House member who has been involved in the health-care discussions, said an amendment providing for “high-risk pools” — a mechanism to subsidize insurance coverage for the seriously ill — will be added to the health-care bill at a Rules Committee meeting Thursday. (By Winfield Cunningham, Eilperin and DeBonis, 4/6)
The Hill:
House GOP Moves To Add Change To Health Bill Before Recess
House Republicans will move Thursday to add an amendment to their ObamaCare replacement bill as a way to show progress before recess, despite the lack of a major breakthrough. The House Rules Committee will meet Thursday to add language creating a “risk-sharing fund” to subsidize care for people with high medical costs, a senior House GOP aide said. The idea functions like a high-risk pool that Republicans have long supported. (Sullivan, 4/6)
Bloomberg:
Trump Pushing House To Aid Gravely Ill In Health-Care Bill, Sources Say
The White House prodded House Republican leaders to make last-minute tweaks to their Obamacare replacement bill Thursday to protect “high-risk” patients before lawmakers leave Washington for their two-week spring break, according to an administration official and a House leadership aide. The House Rules Committee is making last-minute plans to hold a meeting Thursday to consider an amendment to create a new risk-sharing fund for the seriously ill. The move doesn’t indicate the overall bill will go to the floor immediately, but committee action on the amendment is intended to show momentum toward a deal on a bill is building, said the aide. (Jacobs and House, 4/6)
Politico:
House GOP Mulls Emergency Meeting To Push Obamacare Repeal
House Republicans are considering an emergency committee meeting Thursday to keep their Obamacare replacement plan afloat, sources told POLITICO — a last-minute decision that comes just as the GOP repeal effort was seen as all but dead for the foreseeable future. (Bade, 4/5)
The Hill:
Meadows: Freedom Caucus Would Back Bill That Got Rid Of 3 ObamaCare Regs
The majority of the House Freedom Caucus would vote for a healthcare bill that gets rid of three of ObamaCare's insurer regulations, the group’s chairman Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) said Thursday. The caucus has withheld its support from the GOP's ObamaCare repeal bill last month, saying it does nothing to drive down insurance premiums. But in an effort to sway the caucus, Vice President Pence offered this week to get rid of three regulations: essential health benefits, which mandate what services insurers must cover; community rating, which says insurers can't charge sick people more for insurance; and guaranteed issue, which says insurers must cover people with pre-existing conditions. (Hellmann, 4/6)
