Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Changes To GOP Plan Will Provide Relief To Older Americans, Ryan Promises
The Associated Press: Ryan: More Help For Older People Needed In GOP Health Bill
Days before a pivotal vote, House Speaker Paul Ryan said Sunday he will seek changes to a GOP health care bill to provide more help to older people. The new willingness to compromise was a bid for more support from moderate Republicans, who expressed continuing unease about the plan to replace Barack Obama's health law unless significant changes were made. (3/19)
The Washington Post: House Health-Care Bill Will Change To Offer More Help To Seniors, Ryan Says
“We think that we should be offering even more assistance than what the bill currently does,” Ryan (R-Wis.) said in a “Fox News Sunday” interview, in which he confirmed that House leaders are eyeing a Thursday vote on its passage. Meanwhile, a key conservative senator said White House officials were continuing to negotiate through the weekend on even more dramatic revisions to the bill in hopes of winning over hard-liners who have threatened to tank the legislation. (DeBonis, 3/19)
The Wall Street Journal: Ryan Confident About Health Plan’s Passage, After Change To Help Seniors
House Speaker Paul Ryan on Sunday expressed confidence that the Republican health-care plan will pass the House later this week, saying his party’s lawmakers are working to make changes to the bill to address remaining concerns, including providing more assistance to older Americans. “I feel very good about it. This is exactly where we want to be,” the Wisconsin Republican said in an interview with “Fox News Sunday.” (Hayashi, 3/19)
Politico: Ryan: Health Care Bill Must Do More For Older People
Ryan's comments came in the wake of a Congressional Budget Office analysis showing that older people could pay higher premiums under the GOP bill. Ryan expressed skepticism about the CBO analysis but said his leadership team is looking at more ways to help older people under the new plan. (Kullgren, 3/19)
The Hill: Ryan On Healthcare Plan: We Believe We Should Have More Assistance For Older People
Ryan said Sunday the CBO looked at "a little piece of the issue." "When we know the secretary of [Health and Human Services] will help bring market freedom and regulatory relief to the health insurance markets to dramatically lower the price of the plan for the 50- and 60-year-olds," Ryan said. (Savransky, 3/19)
Bloomberg: Ryan Plans Tweaks To Health-Care Bill To Help Older People
“We have to do something about the fact that the House bill disproportionately affects older, rural Americans,” Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. Ryan didn’t say whether he had the 218 votes necessary to pass the bill, which would replace President Barack Obama’s signature Affordable Care Act, but he said he feels “very good about where we are.” (Brody and Edney, 3/19)
The Associated Press: For Many Older Americans, Costs Rise Under GOP Health Plan
Among the groups hardest hit by the Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act is one that swung for Donald Trump during last year's presidential race — older Americans who have not yet reached Medicare age. Many of those who buy their own health insurance stand to pay a lot more for their coverage. That is especially true for the nearly 3.4 million older Americans who have enrolled through the government marketplaces, many of whom receive generous federal subsidies through the health care law enacted under former President Barack Obama. (3/19)
Stat: Obamacare Replacement Could Hike Insurance Costs For Some Seniors
Just shy of Medicare eligibility, [Erika] Snyder is part of the age 50 to 64 demographic that would face much higher insurance costs under the GOP plan, known as the American Health Care Act. The law would eliminate Obamacare subsidies that 3 million Americans in that age bracket currently rely on to purchase insurance. It would also allow insurers to charge older people up to 5 times as much as younger Americans for individual policies, while providing an age-based tax credit that experts say would fall far short of covering these additional costs. (Ross, 3/17)
