Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Buckle Up, This Week Is Going To Be A Wild Ride Of Debates, The Vote-A-Rama And Political Maneuvering
The Associated Press: Senate Health Care Debate Could Be Suspenseful And Raucous
The Senate's days-long debate on health care features a dynamic that's relatively rare on Capitol Hill. Genuine suspense. Debate kicked off Tuesday without an obvious endgame. Several Republicans voted to start debate but said the bill will have to be changed for them to vote to actually pass the legislation later this week. The amendment process promises to be extensive and freewheeling. And victory for Republicans and President Donald Trump is not guaranteed. (Ohlemacher, 7/26)
Politico: What's Next In The Senate Repeal Saga? Good Question
Once the Senate burns through its 20 hours of debate, split among Republicans and Democrats, it goes to a vote-a-rama, which at this point looks like it will be late Thursday. Theoretically that allows for unlimited amendments as long as they are relevant. But probably a few dozen will be voted on. (Demko, 7/25)
USA Today: The Senate Agreed To Debate A Health Care Bill. Now What?
The Senate is expected to vote midday Wednesday on an amendment that would create a clean repeal of the Affordable Care Act that wouldn’t take effect for two years. The delay is intended to give lawmakers time to come together on a replacement plan before people lose their health care. But even with conservative support, the clean repeal is not likely to pass because at least three Republican senators — Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia — have all said they wouldn’t vote for a repeal without a replacement. Other lawmakers have also expressed concern. (Collins and Shesgreen, 7/25)
The Washington Post: As Senate Starts Debate To Topple The ACA, Even Senators Don’t Know Where It Will Lead
Based on what senators were saying on Tuesday, here are some of the plans and amendment likely to come up for debate or a vote — potentially in different combinations — in coming days. (Goldstein and Winfield Cunningham, 7/25)
The Wall Street Journal: Health-Care Bill: What’s Next?
Under the procedural rules Senate Republicans have adopted to pass health-care legislation with a simple majority, rather than the 60 votes usually needed, they are limited in how much of the ACA they can repeal. Any measure must be generally related to taxes or spending. So only parts of the ACA can be knocked down, and only certain kinds of replacements can be proposed. (Armour, 7/26)
CQ Roll Call: Senate Bill's Abortion Language Remains In Flux
Senate Republicans are working to adapt two key anti-abortion provisions in the Senate health care bill in an effort to salvage the language and please conservative groups. On Friday, Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough said the language that blocks Medicaid reimbursements for Planned Parenthood and prevents tax credits from being used for insurance that covers abortion would violate budget reconciliation rules as currently written. (Raman, 7/25)
Bloomberg: Senate Sets Up Slew Of Health Votes For Chaotic Obamacare Debate
Senate Republicans have embarked on an unpredictable and potentially chaotic floor debate aimed at repealing Obamacare amid significant doubts that they can muster 50 votes to pass any kind of health bill. GOP leaders will hold votes on a slew of different health bills to see how close they can get to passing something. The debate -- which will be punctuated with skirmishes over obscure rules and parliamentary challenges -- will culminate in an all-night "vote-a-rama" later this week that could feature dozens, or even hundreds, of amendment votes. (Edney, Litvan and Tracer, 7/26)
The New York Times: Republicans Are Voting This Week To Repeal Or Replace Obamacare. Here Are Their Proposals.
The Senate voted Tuesday to begin debate on repealing the Affordable Care Act. On Tuesday night, the Senate failed to pass one of three proposals, a revised version of its plan to repeal and replace the current law. Here are the next steps. (Park, Parlapiano and Sanger-Katz, 7/25)
Kaiser Health News: Senate Votes To Move Ahead With Obamacare Replacement Bill Debate. What's Next?
So the Senate has voted to start debate on a bill to replace the Affordable Care Act. Now what? Well, it gets wonky. The rules for budget reconciliation, the process the Senate is using that limits debate and allows a bill to pass with only a simple majority, comes with a set of very specific rules. Here are some of the big ones that could shape whatever final bill emerges. (Rovner, 7/25)
