Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
GOP's Cassidy Wins La. Senate Race And Vows To Take Aim At Health Law
Politico: Bill Cassidy: Obamacare ‘Pounding The American People’
Rep. Bill Cassidy, who toppled Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu in Saturday’s runoff election, says his top priority is to tackle Obamacare. "It’s pounding the American people,” the Republican senator-elect said on “Fox News Sunday.” “People are upset about this law, and we must do something about it.” “The Supreme Court is now considering a case as to whether the administration is breaking a law in terms of how they give subsidies - and a plain reading of the law suggests that they are,” he said. “If the Supreme Court rules that the administration is breaking the law, it crashes in 30 some odd states.” (Diaz, 12/7)
The Hill: Newest GOP Senator: Victory An 'Exclamation Mark'
Cassidy, who unseated Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) in a runoff election on Saturday, said the GOP takeover of the Senate illustrated how dissatisfied voters were with President Obama, especially in the Deep South. ... Cassidy, himself a doctor, said rolling back Obama’s healthcare law would be one of his top priorities in the Senate. But he appeared to put mostly hope that the Supreme Court, which will hear a case concerning ObamaCare subsidies, would do most of the work in eliminating the law. (Becker, 12/7)
The Fiscal Times: After Defeating Landrieu, Cassidy Aims at Obamacare
Just one day after Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) handily defeated three-term Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) in a runoff election Saturday night, Louisiana’s new senator-elect announced his next target: Obamacare. ... Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the new Majority Leader-to-be in January, as well as House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), have already vowed to vote to repeal Obamacare, though the health law will be safe as long as President Obama is in the White House. Still, Republicans are planning to go after vulnerable provisions of the law, such as the medical device tax and the employer mandate. The law also faces immediate danger from the judicial branch. (Ehley, 12/7)
The Wall Street Journal: GOP Adds Veteran Legislator Bill Cassidy To Senate Tally
Senator-elect Bill Cassidy is a doctor who says he first ran for office because he was horrified by the breakdown in health care after Hurricane Katrina. ... Mr. Cassidy effectively brushed aside criticism late in the campaign from Ms. Landrieu that he had filed timesheets for working at a Louisiana state hospital on days he was also casting votes in Washington. Mr. Cassidy said he often worked in the morning to meet his part-time obligations teaching students and treating patients, then flew to Washington in the afternoon. He said he also saw enough to know that patients were struggling to afford insurance under the Affordable Care Act. “I would like to repeal and replace Obamacare with something that would actually help them,” Mr. Cassidy said in a debate on Monday. “How can we give power to the patient?” (Bauerlein, 12/7)
