Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Eyes Turn Back To Future Of Insurance Subsidies After Replacement Bill Collapse
The Wall Street Journal: After GOP Bill’s Failure, Health-Law Lawsuit Takes Center Stage
President Donald Trump and GOP lawmakers, seeking to regroup following the collapse of the effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, have an option for gutting the health law relatively quickly: They could halt billions in payments insurers get under the law. House Republicans were already challenging those payments in court as invalid. Their lawsuit to stop the payments, which they call illegal, was suspended as Republicans pushed to replace the ACA, but it could now resume—or the Trump administration could decline to contest it and simply drop the payments. Mr. Trump could unilaterally end the payments regardless of the lawsuit. (Armour, 3/27)
CQ Roll Call: Insurers Seek Stability As Trump Moves Away From Health Care
President Donald Trump and congressional leaders want to move on from health policy after Friday's stunning defeat for their overhaul of the 2010 health care law. But insurance companies are focused on seeking federal help to stabilize the insurance markets created by that law. Speaker Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., pulled the health care legislation (HR 1628) late Friday after it became clear it would never muster the votes to pass. The controversial legislation was wildly unpopular with voters, Democrats and even a number of Republicans, and was panned by a wide array of health industry groups, including hospitals, doctors and consumer groups. (Mershon, 3/27)
Marketplace: Health Insurers Weigh Choice Of Offering Plans On Obamacare Exchanges In 2018 Or Pulling Out
What now? That's the question after House Republicans last week failed to pass a repeal-and-replacement bill for the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Over the weekend President Trump predicted the ACA will "explode." One way that could happen is if more insurers drop out of state and federal exchanges in 2018. (Gorenstein, 3/27)
