Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Different Takes On Senate Health Care Votes And Strategies: 'Zombie Trumpcare' And A 'Gallows Reprieve'
Bloomberg: Zombie Trumpcare Still Threatens The Health Sector
Anyone who's attempted to read the tea leaves on this bill has long since smashed their cup against the wall. The Senate voted to debate a bill; we just don't know what will be in it. There's no full text. There's been no Congressional Budget Office score of a final proposal. There hasn't been a single public hearing. And there's no certainty Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell can get 50 votes together on anything other than a discussion of an intentionally amorphous bill. We're in the health-care twilight zone. (Max Nisen, 7/25)
The Washington Post: Congress Continues To Degrade Itself
In January 1988, in Ronald Reagan’s final State of the Union address, he noisily dropped on a table next to the lectern in the House chamber three recent continuing resolutions, each more than a thousand pages long. Each was evidence of Congress’s disregard of the 1974 Budget Act. (George F. Will, 7/25)
The New York Times: The Senate’s Health Care Travesty
Ignoring overwhelming public opposition to legislation that would destroy the Affordable Care Act, Senate Republicans voted on Tuesday to begin repealing that law without having any workable plan to replace it. The majority leader, Mitch McConnell, browbeat and cajoled 50 members of his caucus to vote to begin a debate on health care without even telling the country which of several competing bills he wanted to pass. Vice President Mike Pence provided the tiebreaking vote. (7/25)
Los Angeles Times: In The Absence Of An Actual Obamacare Replacement Plan, The GOP Votes To Debate ... No Bill At All
Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, proved an old adage wrong on Tuesday. Sometimes, it turns out, you can beat something with nothing. After weeks of negotiations toward a Senate bill to repeal Obamacare, Kentucky Sen. McConnell was at an impasse. He couldn’t amass a majority for any of several competing proposals to replace Obamacare. Nor could he attract a majority for “repeal and delay,” a punt that would declare the program dead, but leave it in place for two years. (Doyle McManus, &/25)
USA Today: The Senate's Health Care Sham
In 2009 and 2010, Republicans complained bitterly that a major health care overhaul was being rammed through Congress without their input. Their objections were somewhat off base. The Affordable Care Act, which came to be known as Obamacare, borrowed heavily from a 1990s Republican bill, included multiple GOP amendments, and sprang initially in the Senate from a bipartisan group of six. (7/25)
USA Today: Our Plan Replaces Failing Obamacare
We recognize that securing Americans’ health care future is absolutely paramount. The Senate can now vote on a variety of bipartisan proposals and amendments to ensure that every American has access to quality, affordable care. The process of repealing the Affordable Care Act began in November 2010, when voters across the country rejected the bill and sent the largest freshman class since World War II to the House of Representatives. (Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., 7/25)
The Wall Street Journal: A GOP Gallows Reprieve
Louisiana Republican John Kennedy cracked to Politico this week that “the sight of the gallows focuses the mind,” and perhaps that explains why after months of group therapy Senate Republicans finally voted Tuesday to open debate on repealing ObamaCare. Whatever the impetus, the vote kept GOP reform hopes alive and may have saved the GOP Congress. (7/25)
RealClear Health: It’s Still Mission Impossible For The Senate GOP’s Health Plan
Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did the seemingly impossible and got the votes he needed to proceed to consideration of the House-passed plan for repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA). At this point, it’s hard to tell what exactly will happen in the coming days, but there is one thing that is fairly certain: if the current Republican effort succeeds in passing a bill, the legislation will make the individual insurance market less stable than it is under current law. (James C. Capretts, 7/26)
Los Angeles Times: John McCain Rescued The Senate GOP Healthcare Bill. Can He Rescue The Senate?
It’s hard to ignore the irony of Sen. John McCain returning to Washington from cranial surgery at the Mayo Clinic just to keep alive a bill that would make health insurance unaffordable to millions of Americans. Had McCain (R-Ariz.) considered the symbolism of his actions more carefully, he might have lingered longer at the hospital. (7/25)
