Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Dismissing Concerns Voiced At Town Hall Meetings, Conservatives Push GOP Lawmakers To Quickly Repeal The Health Law
Roll Call: Conservatives Want Obamacare Repeal, And They Want It Now
Conservatives rallying here are calling for their congressional brethren to keep the faith and quickly gut the 2010 health care law, dismissing concerns about lost health coverage and motivated voters at town halls. Reported remarks by former Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, far away from the conservatives gathered at the convention hotel provided the latest cause for alarm. Boehner had said that repeal and replace was “not going to happen,” according to Politico. “The last I checked, Boehner doesn’t have a vote anymore,” Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas told Roll Call. (Lesniewski and McPherson, 2/23)
Morning Consult: Experts Question GOP Approach To Pre-Existing Health Conditions
A key plank of the House GOP’s blueprint to replace the Affordable Care Act would fail to provide adequate health insurance to people with existing medical conditions without substantial state or federal funding, according to veteran health care officials and experts. ... But prior experience with [high-risk] pools, which were operated in 35 states before the ACA, shows they had inconsistent results and were rarely sufficient to cover everyone in need. Studies estimate the pools covered about 200,000 people nationwide by the time the ACA was passed. That’s a tiny fraction of the 52 million Americans with pre-existing conditions that could become uninsurable if Obamacare is repealed. (Reid, 2/23)
Previous, related KHN coverage: Sounds Like A Good Idea? High-Risk Pools (Rovner and Ying, 10/31/2016)
The Hill: House Markup Of ObamaCare Repeal Bill Up In The Air
The timing of a House committee session to work on ObamaCare repeal and replace legislation is in flux as Republicans seek to flesh out the details. Though no date was ever formally scheduled, the House Energy and Commerce Committee had been eyeing March 1 for a markup of repeal and replace legislation. Lobbyists and aides now say a markup is not likely to happen until at least the week of March 6. Several lobbyists said Republicans on the committee sent some elements of a healthcare bill to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), but did not receive the cost estimates that they had expected. (Sullivan, 2/23)
The New York Times: How Republicans Propose Changing Obamacare
House Republicans’ plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, would fundamentally change how health care is financed for people who do not have insurance through work. What we know so far. (Park, 2/23)
