Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Gov. LePage Accuses Maine Senators Of Being 'Out Of Touch' After Voting Against GOP Health Bill
The Associated Press: After Health Vote, Governor Calls Maine Senators 'Dangerous'
Republican Gov. Paul LePage is blasting Maine's U.S. senators as "dangerous" over their votes that helped sink a GOP proposal to repeal President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act. The governor targeted Republican Susan Collins and independent Angus King in an op-ed published Wednesday in the Wall Street Journal, writing that they "are worse than out of touch — they are downright dangerous." (Sharp, 8/2)
The Associated Press: Ryan Fields Questions From Frustrated Republican Voters
Frustrated Republicans vented their displeasure at House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday during a town hall meeting at a wire manufacturer in the Wisconsin congressman’s district. Ryan hasn’t held a town hall meeting open to the general public since October 2015, but he does frequently take questions from employees following business tours. It was at an event like that at Banker Wire on Wednesday when Ryan got challenged, something that’s rarely happened to him at other similar events. (Bauer, 8/3)
Denver Post: Cory Gardner Faces Questions About Health Care In Telephone Town Hall
Cory Gardner faced several questions about health care — and his votes last week to unwind the Affordable Care Act — during a telephone town hall that drew about 6,000 people Wednesday night, including a woman who accused the GOP senator of “voting against your constituents” and a man who said he was disappointed in Republicans. Gardner defended himself by saying that Obamacare has worked for some and failed others and that he wants to ensure the parts that function remain while fixing aspects of the law that have left people facing high costs. (Paul, 8/2)
The Hill: McCain: Arizona Was About To Get 'Screwed' By GOP Healthcare Plan
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) explained Wednesday that he voted against a scaled-down ObamaCare repeal bill last week because people in his home state would be deeply hurt by the measure. "Arizona was about to get screwed, if I may, under this plan," McCain told Phoenix-based radio host Mike Broomhead. (Beavers, 8/2)
The Associated Press: McCain Says He Expects To Return To Senate Next Month
Arizona Sen. John McCain said in a radio interview Wednesday that he hates the healthy diet his wife and daughter are forcing on him as he fights an aggressive form of brain cancer but expects to return to the Senate next month. (Christie, 8/2)
And one reporter offers a look inside the health care debates —
The New York Times: The Passion Of A Congressional Health Care Battle
One of the remarkable features of covering the congressional battle over health care this year has been the way reporters pieced together a picture of what was happening from snippets of information extracted from members of Congress dashing through the Capitol. At times, I felt as if I were in a time machine — reliving, in reverse, my previous reporting for The New York Times on the laborious legislative process that produced the Affordable Care Act in 2009 and 2010. Reporters roamed the halls like hunters and sprang into action with voice recorders in hand when a senator emerged from the Senate chamber, an elevator or a subway car, or an unmarked hideaway office. (Pear, 8/2)
