Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Edition: November 7, 2014
Kaiser Health News: Thinking About Enrolling In Obamacare? Keep These 5 Tips In Mind
The health law’s open enrollment season is just around the corner. Are you ready? Here’s a quick checklist for people who don’t get their health insurance at work and plan to shop for coverage on the health law’s online exchanges, or marketplaces, starting Nov. 15. You can compare plans and prices at healthcare.gov or, if your state has its own exchange, shop there to find out which coverage is best for you. And you may be eligible for subsidies to help pay your premium. (Carey, 11/7)
The Wall Street Journal: All Eyes On Healthcare.gov Chief As New Enrollment Season Nears
Kevin Counihan knows he has a lot at stake this month. As chief executive of Healthcare.gov, Mr. Counihan is responsible for making sure the site doesn’t falter during the second year of insurance sign-ups under the Affordable Care Act. Its disastrous launch last year embarrassed the Obama administration and frustrated millions who visited the portal to buy health plans. (Armour and Radnofsky, 11/7)
The New York Times: A Post-Election Day Certainty: New Scrutiny For The Affordable Care Act
This week’s elections ensure a new round of political attacks on the Affordable Care Act, but they also create potential opportunities to repair provisions of the law that people on both sides of the partisan divide would like to fix. With the shift in power in the Senate, Republicans can turn up the heat on the White House, which has dismissed as political stunts repeated House votes to repeal the law. (Pear, 11/6)
USA Today: After Republican Sweep, Uncertainty Over ACA
As Kentucky prepares for the second year of Obamacare sign-ups, there's little of the public hoopla that surrounded last year's historic launch in a state widely seen as a national model for its smooth roll out. But after Tuesday's Republican sweep of Congress, there's new uncertainty about the Affordable Care Act's future — with the state's newly re-elected senator, soon-to-be Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, saying he plans to target elements of the law. (Ungar and Kenning, 11/7)
Politico: John Boehner, Mitch McConnell Vow To Kill Obamacare
House Speaker John Boehner and incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, outlining their legislative vision for the last two years of Barack Obama’s presidency, are vowing to try to repeal the Affordable Care Act. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed published Wednesday evening fresh off the Republican Senate takeover and major GOP House gains, the leaders largely maintain their commitment to reaching legislative compromise and cutting through Washington paralysis. (Topaz, 11/6)
The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire: For Obama And GOP, Is There A Middle Ground?
Mr. Obama made clear Republicans were going to try to strip away at the law, piece by piece, starting with the parts he feels are the most unpopular. Mr. Obama signaled Wednesday he was open to some changes to the law, which he described as things he would view as “responsible,” but he wanted to hear what Republicans planned first. This could be a chess game that plays out over the next two years. Does Mr. Obama hand over the keys to his biggest legislative achievement? Do Republicans agree to make changes to the law, and then allow themselves to put their fingerprints all over it? Or, do both sides eventually go back to warring? (Paletta, 11/6)
The Wall Street Journal: John Boehner Strikes Combative Tone
House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) struck a combative tone Thursday in his first postelection comments, vowing the House would again vote to repeal the federal health-care law and warning the White House from “poisoning the well” on immigration. ... Additionally, he said Republicans would continue to try and repeal Mr. Obama’s signature achievement in office, the Affordable Care Act. “Obamacare is hurting our economy, is hurting middle class families,” Mr. Boehner said. (Crittenden, 11/6)
The Wall Street Journal: Republican Leaders Aim To Keep Rank-And-File In Line
GOP leaders of both chambers this week outlined an agenda that begins with areas of bipartisan consensus and acknowledges the limits of what they can do with a Democratic president. Their legislative priorities include approving the Keystone XL pipeline and stripping out the least popular pieces of the Affordable Care Act, including the medical-device tax and a requirement that big employers provide insurance to all workers clocking 30 hours a week or more or pay a fee. (Peterson and Crittenden, 11/6)
The New York Times: Chance For Tax Overhaul Is Seen In Shift Of Power
And two conservatives, Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama and Representative Tom Price of Georgia, are expected to take over their chambers’ budget committees. Both are considering turning to a parliamentary procedure called reconciliation to cut the costs of social programs like Medicare and ease the passage of a simplified tax code. (Weisman, 11/6)
The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire: Rep. Van Hollen Sees GOP Using The Budget To Target The Health Law
Republican leaders are being careful so far not to reveal how they might craft budget resolutions next year, an important part of their legislative strategy as it allows the Senate to hold filibuster-proof votes on contentious issues like taxes and health-care policy. But Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee, predicted Republicans would use the budget “reconciliation” process to try to roll back the Affordable Care Act. (Paletta, 11/6)
The Wall Street Journal: Humana’s Profit Dips In Third Quarter
Humana Inc. said its earnings fell in the most recent quarter as the health insurer continued to feel pressure from costs related to insurance exchanges and new, expensive hepatitis C drugs. The company said these effects were offset in large part by increasing membership, although its results fell below analysts’ expectations. (Calia, 11/7)
The New York Times: Arizona: Court Hears Arguments Over Medicaid
A rift between Gov. Jan Brewer and state legislators in her own party over her support of Medicaid expansion played out before the State Supreme Court on Thursday. (Rojas, 11/6)
The Washington Post's Wonkblog: How The Soda Industry Met Its Match In One Of America’s Most Liberal Cities
On Tuesday, voters in Berkeley, Calif. passed the country's first soda tax with a whopping 75 percent of the vote, a big defeat for the beverage industry, which had poured millions of dollars into blocking the tax. In a campaign year when control of the Senate was at stake and states across the country were voting on marijuana legalization, the beverage industry's attention was focused on Berkeley. (Ferdman, 11/6)
