Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Different Takes: The Politics Of Repeal, Replace And Reform
Bloomberg: Exposing The Obvious About The GOP Health-Care Bill
The gory details of the Congressional Budget Office’s report on the House legislation to “repeal and replace” Obamacare are, in many ways, superfluous. The bill’s flaws, substantive and otherwise, have long been evident. Less clearly understood, though equally disturbing, is the larger political context. (5/25)
Roll Call: A GOP Guide To Running For Cover On Health Care
Most of the news coverage highlighted the CBO’s estimate that 23 million fewer Americans would have health coverage in 2026 under the bill. But in 2026, most current House Republicans will be lobbyists and strategic consultants — and some future Congress would get the blame. In political terms, the scariest CBO number was that 14 million fewer Americans would be without health insurance next year. And many of these suddenly uninsured people just might remember whom to blame when they cast their 2018 ballots. (Walter Shapiro, 5/26)
Los Angeles Times: Die Hard: Republican Healthcare Bill Has No Problem Throwing You Off A Building
Glendale resident David Cannizzaro has had asthma since he was 7. Prior to Obamacare, his healthcare strategy was to see the doctor as little as possible so his insurer wouldn’t notice his preexisting condition and decide to raise his rates or drop his coverage. Now that Republican lawmakers are advancing a bill that would repeal the Affordable Care Act and potentially allow insurers to jack up premiums for people with preexisting conditions, Cannizzaro, 49, said he’s once again living in fear. “It’s very, very scary,” he told me. (David Lazarus, 5/26)
The Washington Post: Senate Republicans Who Are Gunning For Obamacare Are Caught In A Trap
Republican senators who are being asked today about the brutal Congressional Budget Office score of the health-care plan that passed the House have a ready answer: That doesn’t have anything to do with us. Numerous senators released statements saying that the CBO score just shows that the American Health Care Act (AHCA) is a radioactive fungus, which is why they’re starting over on their own bill. (Paul Waldman, 5/25)
The Washington Post: Don’t Blame The CBO For Problems In The House Health-Care Bill
The new Congressional Budget Office score of the American Health Care Act is devastating. In 2026, 23 million fewer Americans would be insured with it than without it. The response of the secretary of health and human services and other defenders of the Republican bill? Attack the Congressional Budget Office. I had the honor of running the CBO a decade ago and will be the first to admit it’s not perfect. But it’s also far better than the alternatives, and most of the critiques are off base. (Peter Orszag, 5/25)
Los Angeles Times: If You Plan On Having A Baby Under Trumpcare, You Better Start Saving Now
Seventeenth century playwright William Congreve famously wrote that hell has no fury like a woman scorned. House Republicans may feel some of that heat once their constituents find out the healthcare bill they passed could make maternity coverage vastly more expensive and harder to obtain. It’s widely known that the House GOP’s proposed American Health Care Act would bar federal funding for Planned Parenthood, which provides many reproductive and maternal health services to lower-income women across the country. Less well understood is that an amendment to the AHCA would also allow states to lift the mandate that insurers include maternity coverage in all the policies they sell to people in the individual and small-group markets (i.e., everyone not covered by a large company health plan). (Jon Healey, 5/25)
Tribune News Service: Obamacare Replacement Would Give Women Better Options, Lower Costs
Women make the majority of decisions about care and insurance for our families, and we generally consume more healthcare than men. As a result, women have a lot at stake when it comes to the laws that govern American healthcare and insurance. In 2010, the Affordable Care Act — Obamacare — made it illegal for insurers to charge women more than men and mandated that insurance plans cover women’s preventive care, including birth control, with no copay. Therefore, some now suggest repealing the Affordable Care Act would be detrimental for women’s health. But the opposite is true: Repeal will afford women greater choice and lower costs when it comes to insurance plans, doctors and care. (Hadley Heath Manning, 5/25)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Medicaid And Opioids: Sen. Toomey Cannot Shirk Duty To Those In Need
One of 13 Republican senators drafting a new health care bill, Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey favors whittling down Medicaid expansion funding. As Medicaid is the largest payer for medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorders nationwide, he will influence the care available to poor heroin and opioid-addicted adults in Pennsylvania and nationwide. (5/25)
Detroit Free Press: Who Will Play Fred Upton In Senate Sequel To House Health Care Farce?
Fred Upton is a 16-term congressman who may or may not be interested in becoming Michigan's next U.S. senator. But there are almost certainly some Republican U.S. senators interested in becoming the next Fred Upton. A grandson of Whirlpool Corp. co-founder Frederick Upton, Rep. Upton is among the wealthiest members of Congress. Until 2016, he served as chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. (Brian Dickerson, 5/25)
Sacramento Bee: California Democrats Did Far More Than Flip Off Trump
California Democrats now number more than 8 million for the first time, hold every constitutional office, and command a supermajority in the Legislature because we reflect the values of the citizens of our state.But we are not resting on our laurels, far from it. While President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are talking about slashing health care for 23 million Americans, California Democrats re-emphasized their belief that health care is a right, not a privilege, as we pursue Medicare for all with Senate Bill 562. (Eric Bauman, 5/25)
Des Moines Register: Privatized Medicaid Was Supposed To Save Money?
Iowa is now 14 months into its experiment with privatized Medicaid management. ... Privatization is a slow-motion train wreck, with providers across the state closing up shop or taking out loans to make payroll because the checks from Medicaid are slow to arrive and patient services are being paid at a lower rate. At the same time, the managed care organizations that Iowa hired to administer Medicaid say they are losing millions, and need an enormous increase in funding in order to make ends meet. This was not only predictable, it was predicted. (5/25)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Western Missouri Becomes A Canary In Obamacare Coal Mine
In what could be a disturbing portent, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City on Wednesday announced it was pulling out of the Obamacare health exchanges in 2018. The decision will leave 67,000 people in 25 Missouri counties and two Kansas counties with no option for private insurance, subsidized or not, under the Affordable Care Act. Blue Cross Blue Shield announced it had lost nearly $100 million on Obamacare policies since 2014; only last year did it take in more premium money than it paid out, and overhead costs pushed the Blues into the red. (5/25)
