Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Biden Promises To 'Protect Your Health Care' By Shoring Up Insurance
Politico: Biden Pledges Americans Won't Lose Health Coverage During Pandemic
President-elect Joe Biden said Tuesday that his advisers are making contingencies so Americans don't have to worry about losing health coverage or protections for preexisting conditions during the pandemic, but did not specify what his administration would do if the Supreme Court strikes down Obamacare. Speaking just hours after the Court heard oral arguments on a Republican-backed challenge to the Affordable Care Act, Biden called the attempt to scrap the law "cruel," and said that his incoming administration will make sure millions of people don’t have to spend the months between now and when the Court issues its ruling in limbo, not knowing the status of their coverage. (Miranda Ollstein, 11/10)
The Washington Post: Biden Presses To Expand Health Insurance On Uncertain Congressional Terrain
President-elect Joe Biden intends to make the case that the coronavirus pandemic and the Affordable Care Act’s uncertain future drive home the importance of helping more Americans gain health insurance and the care they need. The likelihood that the incoming president can persuade Congress to build upon the ACA — a core pledge during his campaign — depends in large part on whether Republicans or Democrats end up controlling a narrowly divided Senate. (Goldstein and Werner, 11/10)
Sky News: Joe Biden Tells Supporters 'Nothing's Going To Stop Us'
Mr. Biden said the Trump Administration's efforts to repeal the 10-year-old law, popularly known as Obamacare, would "rip" healthcare away "in the middle of the worst pandemic in a century", leaving millions of people who have pre-existing conditions without coverage. Nevertheless he promised a "dramatic expansion" of healthcare provision and said his team is "fleshing out the details" on a plan to provide universal and cheaper care "as soon as humanly possible". (11/10)
BBC: Biden Defends Obamacare As Top Court Hears Case
"This case represents the latest attempt by the far-right ideologues to do what they have repeatedly failed to do for a long time," Mr. Biden said in a speech where he addressed the Supreme Court case that opened with oral arguments on Tuesday. ... "Now, in the middle of a deadly pandemic that has affected more than 10 million Americans....these ideologues are once again trying to strip health coverage away from the American people." (11/10)
In other health care news from President-elect Joe Biden —
KHN: Biden Plan To Lower Medicare Eligibility Age To 60 Faces Hostility From Hospitals
Of his many plans to expand insurance coverage, President-elect Joe Biden’s simplest strategy is lowering the eligibility age for Medicare from 65 to 60.But the plan is sure to face long odds, even if the Democrats can snag control of the Senate in January by winning two runoff elections in Georgia. (Galewitz, 11/11)
