Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
After Talks, Some Republicans Remain Glum
The Associated Press: Senate Republicans Claim Progress On Health Care Legislation
President Donald Trump and GOP leaders insisted Tuesday the Senate will vote soon on legislation to repeal and replace "Obamacare." But even as senators headed toward the make-or-break vote before the Fourth of July, deep uncertainty remained about whether the emerging legislation would command enough support to pass. Meeting with Republican congressional leaders at the White House, Trump praised the House for passing its own version of the health legislation early last month, and encouraged the Senate to do to the same. (Werner and Alonso-Zaldivar, 6/6)
Los Angeles Times: Crunch Time As Senate Republicans Race The Clock On Obamacare Repeal — And The Rest Of Trump's Agenda
This week was expected to be a pivotal one for the healthcare overhaul, which lawmakers hope to finish before the July 4 break in order to move to other pressing issues. Among them is raising the debt ceiling to avoid defaulting on the nation’s bills, always a thorny political lift. But glum senators emerged from a series of closed-door meetings Tuesday no closer to an agreement than they have been after weeks of private talks. (Mascaro and Levey, 6/6)
The Wall Street Journal: GOP Senators’ Medicaid Clash Jeopardizes Health Deal
Republican senators left their first decision-making meeting on overhauling the nation’s health-care system Tuesday deeply divided over the fate of Medicaid, a fissure that threatens to thwart their ambitions to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. The divide among Senate Republicans over Medicaid was wide enough that some GOP lawmakers and aides said they now believe it may be impossible to broker a deal to unwind the health law known as Obamacare. Some senators are already preparing to move to another goal, an overhaul of the tax code. (Peterson and Armour, 6/6)
Politico: McConnell Whips Senate GOP Back In Line On Obamacare Repeal
Though senators said McConnell, his deputies and key chairmen and Senate staff did not present a clear-cut legislative framework to them after two key meetings, the Senate’s proposal for repealing and replacing Obamacare is slowly coming into focus as the Kentucky Republican presses for a vote before the July Fourth recess. Senate Republicans expect their bill to be more generous than the House-passed measure in almost every way: A longer runway for ending the Medicaid expansion, more money for insurance market stabilization to lower premiums and beefed up tax credits for Americans of lower income, senators said. But no decisions have been made on some key policy questions, including on handling Medicaid. (Everett, Haberkorn and Cancryn, 6/6)
The Hill: Fractured Republicans Get Options On Healthcare
Senators said a PowerPoint presentation at Tuesday’s Senate GOP lunch meeting left some key decisions unresolved. While aides said some details are starting to take shape, conservatives are already raising red flags. Most importantly, staffers said the bill would allow states to waive ObamaCare rules requiring insurers to cover a range of healthcare services, known as essential health benefits. But the measure would not allow states to waive rules preventing people with pre-existing conditions from being charged more, a departure from the House-passed bill. (Sullivan, 6/6)
And in the states —
Chicago Tribune: Illinois Democrats In Congress Ask Rauner To Speak Up On Health Care Overhaul
Congressional Democrats from Illinois want Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner to speak out more forcefully in the national debate over repealing the Affordable Care Act. In a letter to the governor Tuesday, the lawmakers said they had "serious concerns" about what they called Rauner's "lack of vocal opposition" to a health care overhaul passed by the House last month. The two U.S. senators and 11 Democratic members of the House warned the measure would cause more than 1 million Illinoisans to lose insurance coverage. Illinois Republicans in the House voted for the plan, but GOP senators are crafting a separate bill to repeal and replace the health care law commonly known as Obamacare, with an uncertain timeline and prospects for approval. (Skiba, 6/6)
NPR: Patients Worry About Health Law's Fate In Arizona
For years, says Corinne Bobbie, shopping in Arizona for a health plan for her little girl went like this: "'Sorry, we're not covering that kid,'" Bobbie recalls insurers telling her. "'She's a liability.'" On the day I visit the family at their home in a suburb north of Phoenix, 8-year-old Sophia bounces on a trampoline in the backyard. It's difficult to tell she has a complex congenital heart condition and has undergone multiple surgeries. (Stone, 6/6)
